From Perfect to Disaster
by Vlad Leonardo
Summary: Everything started as a normal day and they didn't expect anything to happen on that day. Once it started, there was no going back. They would meet a bunch of new people and watch said people disappear right before their eyes. Follow Muse as they try to survive their worst nightmare and keep their sanity intact... Join them in an apocalyptic zombie wasteland...
1. Outbreak

**A/N: Well, this idea has been bugging me for a while and I decided to post it. Tell me what you think of it guys. I don't own Love Live or any of its characters. I only own the OCs.**

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><p>She never thought such a perfect day to be ruined in just a moment's notice. She wanted to repeat everything. She didn't want this anymore.<p>

"Kousaka, hurry up!" A male's voice ordered her as she was running towards nowhere. She was panicking and then she suddenly had a blackout.

It was a perfect morning. She rose up feeling more energetic than ever. "Morning Yukiho-chan! Okaa-chan!" She greeted as she sat down on the table all dressed for school.

"Good morning dear." Her mother replied.

"Morning." Yukiho replied as she continued to eat her toast. "You're bursting with energy today Onee-san."

"Yeah, I feel awesome!" Honoka said with a huge smile before eating her own breakfast. Her mother smiled as she saw her daughter wolf down her breakfast and headed out to water the plants. "Well, I'm going on ahead!" Honoka exclaimed as she took her bag and jogged outside, bid farewell to her mother and left for school.

"Good morning!" She yelled as she opened the door to her classroom. Only a few people were there and Umi and Kotori were included. Some greeted her back and the others just plainly waved hello.

"Good morning Honoka-chan." Kotori said with her usual smile.

"What's with this unusual energy Honoka?" Umi asked as she and her grey haired friend approached Honoka. Sure Umi was used to Honoka's bursts of energy but she has never seen her friend this energetic in the morning ever in her life.

"I don't know." Honoka shrugged as she placed her bag on her seat. "I just feel something good is going to happen today!"

If only she knew what was in store for her and her friends, she wouldn't have said that.

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><p>It was lunch break and Muse agreed that they would eat together for today. "Uwaaa! Maki-chan's bento looks so good!" Honoka said as she was practically drooling over Maki's food.<p>

"Hey, don't drool on my food." The redhead said with her usual tone. "Your lunch looks delicious too you know."

"But not as good as yo—" She was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream coming from below. The girls looked down and what they found… they were absolutely terrified. The students were biting each other and the bitten looked as if they were decomposed already. The whole student body was in complete panic.

"We need to go down there and calm them down!" Eri said as she bolted for the door when Nozomi stopped her.

"It's too dangerous Eri-chi!" Nozomi said. "If you go down there then you'll end up like them."

Eri didn't struggle once she thought about it. Nozomi was right. "Zombies…" Rin said as she continued to watch.

They were all terrified but their first instinct right now was to get out of the roof. "How are we going to get down?" Umi asked. "We're stuck here!"

"Don't worry." Nozomi said. She led the group to behind the stairwell structure. There was a metal door disguised as a metal grating and stairs going down. "It was made as a fire escape. It had been long forgotten since no one uses the roof that much."

"Thank goodness." Kotori said. They all proceeded down the stairs with Eri in the front. She would gladly be the first victim in the group if it meant protecting her friends.

Once they reached the bottom, they were greeted by a very disastrous, terrifying, fear-inducing sight. There was much less panic than when they were up in the roof but now… now most of the students were turned into the living dead, some were still trying to fight to survive but didn't have much luck. The girl group was given the grace of seeing their three fans get eaten in front of them. They fought back a shriek and the tears.

"We have to go." Eri said before running away. The others followed… everyone except Honoka. She stood there, shocked at the sight. She couldn't move. Maybe it was the fear or just panic, either way, she couldn't move an inch. They all looked back and ran to Honoka.

"Honoka-chan, we need to go." Kotori said pulling her ginger headed friend. Once Honoka was being pulled, she just struggled to keep in pace until they all abruptly stopped. Honoka looked around to see that they were trapped by zombies coming to them from every direction. She looked back to see Rin and Hanayo fighting back tears. They tried to keep their hopes up but it shattered. "Rin-chan… Hanayo-chan…"

"T-This couldn't be… be the end." Hanayo said as she pinned herself against the wall while facing the others. "W-Why?"

They all backed away until they themselves were pinned against the wall. The zombies were slowly making their way to the group.

"In all honesty, it was good to meet you guys." Eri admitted. "It was fun while it lasted."

"I'll give you guys one last Nico-nii Nico-chan before we all…" She was cut off by a sudden smack to the head.

Maki stood there, as if boiling with anger but it didn't show. "You idiot, we're in a life or death situation so don't act like that!"

Nico held her head. "Hey that hurts!"

"Now's not the time for that." Nozomi said before pointing at the zombies as they were getting closer and closer.

"So there's no way out of this huh?" Rin said as she whimpered.

"Yeah, I guess so." Umi said.

"I want to do one last thing." Honoka said as she looked at her friends.

"What is that?" Eri asked. She would grant Honoka's final wish. It would probably cause them to feel better in their case.

"Gather up guys." She said and everyone gathered in a circle, ignoring the zombie crowd nearing them. "I love all of you guys!" She said as she hugged all of them. The others hugged back. "I wish we could be like this forever…" She said, tears falling down her face. The others started to cry as well. Maki and Umi managed to keep a straight face as they comforted the others.

"At least we'll meet our fate together." Maki said to which the others nodded.

...

...

...

"You guys are too negative for survivors you know."


	2. New Friends

**A/N: Honestly, I didn't expect this story to receive attention so quickly. Three reviews in less than 24 hours, I was very surprised. So I would like to thank all those readers out there who took their time to read the first chapter. And now I shall do what I have never done before... reply to reviews.**

**Dash24zappshift: A badass Nico huh? Well my friend, if given the right circumstances, I might just do it.**

**Rena Bodewig: Does this answer your question? I don't plan on making a one-shot out of this.**

**GAT-X105VividPanzer: I noticed that there weren't any zombie fics in Love Live and then my brother suggested it to me and my mind was suddenly struck with ideas and here it is.**

**And now, let us continue with the story...**

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><p>The girls looked up and despite being teary-eyed and having slightly blurred vision because of this; they managed to see that most of the zombies surrounding them was on the ground. The one who spoke was a man whose red hair rivaled that of Maki's. He was holding a bloody baseball bat which they guessed was his weapon of choice. He didn't have a smile but they could see in his eyes that he was pleased to see other humans who don't look like deteriorating corpses. Behind them a male teenager, about the age of the third years and had silver hair, was using a katana to slice the remaining zombies.<p>

"W-Who are you?" Eri managed to ask.

"Introductions later. First…" He looked around. "We need to get out of here. It isn't safe."

"How can we be sure we can trust you?" Maki asked. She didn't like going with someone she didn't know, let alone a boy.

"We saved you didn't we?" The man replied, his grip on the bat tightening. "Make a choice, come with us and live or stay her and die. You're choice."

The girls looked at each other and nodded. Despite Maki's initial disagreement, they made a choice.

"We'll come with you as long as you promise not to hurt us." Nozomi said as she looked at the red haired teen.

"I promise." The teen replied. He turned to his friend and said, "All right, let's go."

The silver haired teen nodded. "It's all clear."

The girls followed the red haired teen out and the silver haired one behind them to make sure that no one strays away and no zombies touch them from behind. They all ran towards who knows where.

"Where are we going nya~?" Rin asked as she jogged to the red headed male teen.

"To a safe house not far from here." He replied. "That's where we made base."

"How many supplies do you have?" Eri asked. "If it's not enough to feed 11 people then we're in trouble."

The teen didn't respond which gave Eri a bad feeling.

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><p>Honoka opened her eyes to see that there was a roof on top of her. She looked around and everything was normal so she sighed in relief. "It was all just a bad dream."<p>

"You think so huh?" A voice asked from the corner of the room just beside her.

She looked at him. He had aqua blue hair and glasses with a rectangular frame. She hasn't seen him before so who was he?

"The others are eating." He said before standing up. "Can you stand?"

Honoka nodded as she slid off the bed. She noticed that instead of her school shoes, a pair of rubber shoes were placed on her bed instead. She then became aware that she was not wearing her school uniform, she was wearing jeans and a white shirt. "When did I-"

"They dressed you while you were asleep." The man replied before gesturing her to hurry up. "Aren't you hungry?"

As if on cue, Honoka's growled in response causing her to blush in embarrassment. The teen just chuckled and said, "Well that answers my question doesn't it?"

Honoka just chuckled nervously and followed the teen out to the dining area. As they were moving, Honoka noticed that the safe house was actually just a house... a mansion to be exact. When they entered the dining area, all the girls were relieved.

"You got us worried Honoka." Umi said.

"You should thank our silver haired friend here." Eri said pointing at the teen holding the katana. He was the only one who wasn't eating. "He was the one who carried you all the way here while protecting us."

Honoka turned to the silver haired teen and smiled. "Thanks a bunch!"

"Well now that we're all here... let's start the introductions." The red head said.

"Before... you shouted 'Kousaka' so I propose you know all about us?" Nozomi asked.

The red head smiled. "I must say, I admire how keen you are Tojo Nozomi."

Nozomi just smiled in response. "How do you know about us then?" Eri asked.

"Simple. I am a fan of Muse." The red head said. He stood up and bowed. "I am Takamitsu Kei."

"I have heard of the Takamitsu house from my father." Maki said. "You are the heir to the businesses your parents started."

"Correct." Kei said. "I am legally the owner of all of it now since my parents..." He choked on his words as he slumped back to his chair.

Eri was the first to understand and said, "Sorry..."

"What for?" Kei asked with a forced smile.

The others just stayed silent until the aqua blue haired male spoke up. "Well the tension here is choking." He said. All of them turned to the male as he pushed his glasses up. "My name is Ibarra Marcos. I hail from Philippines but grew up in Spain and migrated to Japan to finish high school."

"My name is Ryotaru Silver." The silver haired teen said. "Nice to meet you all. Takamitsu-kun told us all about you. He was the one who suggested to save you after all."

The girls looked at Kei who shrunk in his seat. "R-Ryotaru! You weren't supposed to say that!"

"My bad." Silver said. Even if he said that, the girls could see the smirk evident on his face so the girls let out a soft giggle.

Hanayo studied Silver further. He was wearing a white jacket and pants that were now stained with blood from killing zombies. The uniform looked familiar to her. "Ryotaru-kun... are you from UTX?"

Silver looked at her before nodding. "Yes I am. Why?"

"I-Is A-Rise still..." She trailed off and mumbled the rest of the question.

Silver seemed to understand based on his action of looking away and his grip on his katana loosening. "I didn't see them in the midst of the panic. I'm not sure if they're still alive or not."

"So they're de-"

"I didn't say that!" Silver exclaimed before calming down to his original state. "I just said that I didn't see them. Who knows? They might have gotten out in time."

She was surprised that Silver defended that they were still alive in such a hurry. "Are you friends with them?"

Silver didn't respond as he looked outside. "It's night. You guys should get a good night's sleep." He said redirecting the subject to another. "We have to move. We ran out of supplies since there weren't much to begin with." He walked into a room and shut the door.

"I agree with Ryotaru." Marcos said. "We need to get out and get supplies. Besides, this place won't stay safe forever."

"Did you guys know each other before all of this happened?" Nico asked. They did act like friends.

Marcos and Kei looked at each other and the latter shook his head. "No, we didn't. We just met by pure chance."

"Yeah, it was Silver who found the both of us." Marcos said.

"I see." Umi said.

"Now let me escort you to your rooms." Kei said as he stood up.

"We'd rather stay together." Maki said.

"Heh, as you wish..." Kei bowed as if he was a butler. "Ice Princess."

Maki didn't even retort as Kei led them towards a big room. It had three large beds enough to fit five people. The curtains to the window were closed and it was as if the windows themselves were barricaded.

"Sleep tight. We're going to get out of here once morning comes." Kei said before closing the door leaving the nine girls to talk among themselves.

"It's good that we managed to meet someone who can fight." Honoka said with a smile. "At least they actually swore to protect and not hurt us."

"Are they really that trusworthy?" Maki asked. "Maybe they are just wolves in sheep's clothing."

"Maki-chan, you shouldn't talk to them like that! They did just save us!" Honoka said as she sat on the bed. Kotori and Umi shared the bed with her. Basically, the beds were shared by their years and no one objected.

"But Maki has a point Honoka." Eri pointed out. "We can't just blindly trust anyone even if they saved us."

Honoka just nodded in response.

"Let's decide whether to trust them or not tomorrow." Kotori suggested with a smile. "We should get some rest."

"Kotori's right." Umi said as she, herself, tucked under the blanket. "We need to have sufficient energy if we want to live tomorrow."

"Right." The others replied as they placed themselves on the beds.

"Good night." Honoka said. "Sweet dreams girls."

"Good night..." Some responded. The others were already asleep due to fatigue. While Honoka was asleep, the others were undergoing arms training, mainly the bow and arrow and the katana. They did good and the boys said that it was their exercise.

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><p>Kei knocked on Silver's door. He was currently with Marcos. Silver opened the door and let the two in. "So?"<p>

"I guess they're still a bit cautious around us but I think they would go with us." Kei replied.

Silver sighed. "Then we need to find a store right away. There is a reason why I didn't eat."

"We know." Marcos said pushing his frames up once more. "There is a supermarket nearby. That should be our first target don't you think?"

"Yes, it should." Kei agreed. "Let's discuss this tomorrow morning once the girls are awake."

The two nodded. Kei and Marcos left for their rooms and Silver just closed his door.

"A group of 12?" Silver asked to himself. "Is that even a good idea?"


	3. Escape

**A/N: Well here's your third chapter. Do you find the three OCs interesting?  
><strong>

**lianacim14: Hey, another Filipino, nice to see you here. I just had the idea of putting a foreigner in there and since I'm proud Pinoy (Filipino), I put him in there. If you've read Noli Me Tangere, you'd know where the Ibarra came from.**

**GAT-X105VividPanzer: What I just said for lianacim14 just before this. Having Filipinos as my first reviewers warms my heart. You'll be seeing a lot of new friends soon, trust me.**

**Rena Bodewig: Oh don't worry, the girls would have their spotlight soon.**

**KevinCruelz: Thanks for the compliment. And as you wish...**

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><p>Honoka was the first to rise. She did get enough sleep earlier thanks to her blacking out suddenly. She silently slid off the bed and onto her feet. She really didn't want to disturb anyone as they looked so peacefully asleep. She looked at the window and peeked behind the curtains, the window was indeed barricaded but there was a tiny hole there. She peeked through it and saw that the outskirts of the house was empty. She smiled to herself and made her way to the door. She opened it slowly and closed it in the same manner.<p>

"Ah, Kousaka-san, good morning." She turned around to see Silver wave at her with a smile.

"Good morning Ryotaru-kun." Honoka replied back with the same smile. "What are we having for breakfast?" She asked as she heard her stomach growl.

"Toast." Silver replied. Honoka didn't notice it but there was something in Silver's voice that shows disdain towards saying the word. It was probably because he couldn't eat it so that the girls would have something to actually eat. "It's still pretty early so you may go around the mansion but do not go outside. There is still danger lurking outside and we don't want you getting hurt."

Honoka nodded with a smile. "Alright."

"Oh and when the clock strikes 9 a.m. proceed to the dining area. There is something we all need to discuss." Silver said as Honoka jogged away. Honoka gave him a thumbs up to signal him that she heard what he said. The silver haired teen just continued on patrolling the halls just in case a walker managed to get in, which he highly doubts.

Honoka was wandering inside the mansion. She wasn't even sure where she was since it was huge. "Who even owns this house?" She asked herself as she looked around more. Paintings adorned the walls; she could name only a few of them, Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Birth of Aphrodite by Sandro Boticcelli. Why did she even know the last one? She wasn't sure herself. When she looked up, chandeliers were the first things to come into sight. Although the light inside was turned off, she could still see the beauty of it. "Whoever owns this must be rich…"

"Why thank you." A voice behind her said.

She turned around to see Kei there. "Good morning."

"Morning." Kei said as he walked to Honoka's side. "So, do you like my house?"

"Eh? This is your house?" Honoka asked in disbelief.

"You weren't listening yesterday night?" Kei asked in confusion. "Nishikino did say that my parents are rich businessmen and I'm the heir right? So naturally this place is my house, my home."

"Ehehe…" She chuckled nervously. "Sorry, my mind was somewhere else that time." Her hand rubbed the back of her head.

Kei just sighed. "No problem." He said. "Did you have any place in mind to visit inside the mansion before we leave?"

"Well no." Honoka replied. "I just wanted to walk around."

"I see." Kei replied as he began walking and gesturing Honoka to follow him. Honoka obliged without any hesitation.

"Hey, Takamitsu-kun, why are the windows boarded up?" Honoka asked as she pointed at all the huge windows that had boards nailed on it.

"To prevent the zombies from getting in of course." He replied. "The windows are too low for comfort and when the glass breaks, the zombies might be able to get in and overrun the mansion."

"When did you board them up? The outbreak started yesterday right?" Honoka asked and Kei tensed up.

"W-We managed to board it up in time." Kei replied. "Anyway, it's almost 9 and I should really be in the dining room. See you there Kosaka." He said before jogging away leaving Honoka confused.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked herself as she watched Kei disappear into a corner. She looked at the grandfather clock that was conveniently placed near her and it was just 30 minutes till 9 so she walked back to her room and saw Silver opening the door.

"You girls should wake up." He said and noticed that no one heard him. If everyday was to be like this, something had to be done. Making loud noises would not help as it would attract zombies.

"Let me handle that Ryotaru-kun." Honoka said as she patted her shoulder and walking inside.

"Alright." Silver said as he leaned on the doorframe to see what she would do. "No shouting all right."

"Yeah!" Honoka replied, not really a shout but loud enough to make some stir. "Wake up guys! It's morning!"

"I said no shouting Kosaka-san." Silver said with a face palm but noticed that the girls were beginning to stir more.

"But it's too early…" One said. He couldn't pinpoint who but he knows that she was awake.

"But we need to get out! The zombies are coming!" Honoka exclaimed and with that the girls bolted up and looked around before calming down.

"Honoka! You shouldn't joke around with that!" Umi exclaimed before walking to Honoka and smacking her head.

"But… you won't wake up!" Honoka replied as she held her head.

"She has a point, girls." Silver said and all of them looked at him. "Gather up in the dining room. We need to discuss our next move." He said before turning back and heading off for the said room. The girls followed.

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><p>Simple slices of bread were on each plate, two per person but Silver was once more not eating. He could take it.<p>

"So, we're going to move out of this mansion today." Kei said. "More and more zombies are beginning to surround this place. If we don't move now, we'll get overrun."

"Then were shall we run to?" Eri asked as she looked at her bread before picking it up.

Marcos was the one who spoke up. "We thought that a quick trip to the market to replenish our supplies would be a good idea."

"That sounds like a plan." Umi said. "But… when night comes, how will we sleep?"

"We packed camping bags for that but hopefully we can get inside a house which isn't overrun and stay there for more safety." Silver said.

"Why are we discussing this if you already have a plan?" Nozomi asked.

The three boys looked at each other. "Well, we thought that if you girls have a better plan that you could share it with us." Kei said with a shrug.

"But since we don't have any, we'll go with yours." Umi said.

"Right." Kei said before standing up. "You guys should get yourselves some weapons. We can't protect you guys all day you know. Silver, lead the way."

Silver nodded and he walked to a room with Muse following him. He opened it to reveal a lot of blunt weapons and a bow and some arrows which Umi picked up right away. "This is my weapon of choice." Umi said. It was a Recurve Bow. She would've appreciated a longbow but she still knew how to shoot an arrow on this kind of bow.

The others picked up various things. Rin picked a bat up, Hanayo some sort of short metal pipe, Kotori took a machete, Maki took a sword, Eri took four very sharp knives and something to hold them, Nozomi took a cross like weapon, Nico took a spear and Honoka took a silenced pistol that was hidden inside an urn.

"You people look very intimidating holding those… and a bit funny." Silver said with a snicker.

Just then Marcos passed by and entered the room when the girls dispersed outside swinging their weapon of choice, Honoka taking aim but not shooting. "Ah, there it is." Marcos said as he took a compound boy and folded it.

"You don't find that heavy?" Umi asked.

"It's fine." Marcos replied. "I can shoot well with it, taxing but useful."

"Well now that you guys have your weapons." Kei said as he put a lollipop in his mouth. "Let's get going."

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><p>They all exited the mansion with Kei in the front and Silver at the back like before. Marcos was on the left side, his bow unfolded and his hand ready to get an arrow to shoot. "Hey Kosaka…" Honoka looked at Kei. "Do not fire that weapon unless it is an emergency." He said. "Loud noises attract zombies." Honoka just nodded and they all continued in silence. They passed by Otonokizaka to find that the zombies have overrun the school itself.<p>

"Okaa-chan…" Kotori said as she slowed down nearly bumping into Silver.

"Minami-san?" Silver said. "Is something amiss?"

Kotori was snapped back to reality when Silver spoke up. "It's nothing." She replied.

"Alright." Silver said. Honestly right now, seeing Kotori holding a machete… it gave him the chills. Kei showed him a performance of Muse and he found Kotori as a soft type. The machete told him otherwise. He heard some moaning behind them and saw that zombies were beginning to exit the school and towards them. "Takamitsu, zombies on our six!" He warned.

Kei cursed and said, "Run, run, run!" Everyone obeyed and they ran with the dead behind their backs. Silver took out a crossbow which was folded and placed on his back. He turned around and shot multiple zombies with the improvised arrow, sticks that were carved to make a sharp end. The only ones with the real arrows were Umi and Marcos but mixed in with the real arrows were improvised ones as well. The three managed to shoot down a lot of zombies but it wasn't enough. After many turns and many bursts of adrenaline, they managed to get away and get to the marker they were talking about.

"I'm tired." Honoka said as she collapsed on the ground, sitting and panting.

"We all are." Kei replied, in the same state as Honoka.

Silver, Umi, Marcos and Rin were the only ones who didn't seem to be bothered with all the running. The others sat down and panted like Honoka and Kei.

"You all should rest." Umi said. "We'll get the supplies." She offered.

Marcos nodded. "That would be a great idea considering the fact that once we get our supplies, you all would be rested and we can get out of here faster."

"Umi-chan..." Kotori started but Umi just smiled.

"I'll be fine Kotori." Umi said with a smile to reassure her gray haired friend. "You and the others should rest for now alright?"

Kotori nodded.

Silver mock coughed. "*ahem* Yuri *ahem*" He said making Umi and Kotori blush.

"I-It's not like that!" Umi exclaimed making Silver and Marcos instantly alert.

"All right, all right, just don't scream like that." Silver said before looking over his shoulder and sigh in relief to see no zombies there.

"Let's stay there." Kei said pointing at a nearby house.

"Alright."

Rin and Silver went in first to see if there were any zombies with Umi and Marcos just behind. They checked every room to find that it was completely clean. "All clear." Silver said and everyone went in. "There's food in the kitchen all right?"

"Yeah, take care you four." Kei said.

"We will nya~" Rin replied with a smile. "See you guys later nya~" Rin and Umi left first with Silver.

Marcos was stopped by Hanayo. "Ibarra-kun, take care of Rin-chan all right?"

Marcos nodded. "Of course. She will come back unscathed." He reassured her. "Besides, she can take care of herself."

"Right." Hanayo said with a nod and Marcos left.

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><p><strong>AN: ****If any of you noticed something weird, then you're as keen as Nozomi. Well if you didn't, don't feel bad 'cause it will be mentioned in later chapters.**


	4. Scavenging

**A/N: And I'm back. So they escape the mansion because of their lack of supplies. Maybe it's a good idea, maybe it's not, you guys decide. Well anyway, time to answer/ review to reviews again…**

**KevinCruelz: Well I'm glad that this story was something that you were looking for. A L4D touch huh? Maybe you'll see some, and I'm already planning on having some references to gory movies, other zombie movies and zombie games.**

**Rena Bodewig: Not really the something weird that I was trying to point out. Why did Silver not eat? It will be answered in this chapter.**

**GAT-X105VividPanzer: I think Honoka might know some things like that. Come on, who doesn't love Leonardo Da Vinci? And about the Birth of Aphrodite… I hope it didn't scar you when you saw it. We were studying Greek Myth so I decided to put it in there for fun and the fact that I love Greek Myth had some influence on my decision.**

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><p>Rin was the first to arrive at the entrance. The glass doors were shattered to pieces and only the frame remained. She couldn't see far inside but the light kept flickering on and off which gave off a mysterious vibe. Umi soon caught up with Silver beside her.<p>

"Just like a zombie movie nya~" Rin said to where Umi and Silver nodded. After that, Umi visibly shivered.

"A z-zombie movie…" Umi said.

"Are you alright, Sonoda-san?" Silver asked.

Marcos caught up just in time to hear Umi's reply. "Y-Yes." She took a deep breath. "This isn't a movie. It's reality." She mumbled to himself.

"Did something happen?" Marcos asked the two who were quietly watching Umi.

"Umi-chan just got scared nya~" Rin replied with a smile.

Marcos gave off a small smirk which disappeared relatively quickly. "Well anyway, let's go." He said as Umi started to calm down. "We can't waste precious daylight."

"Alright nya~" Rin said with a small cheer as to not attract zombies.

Silver managed another smile. "You really are brave huh?"

"Of course nya~" Rin replied with her signature cat smile.

Marcos just watched the two, feeling a little worried for the orange haired girl. "Well anyway…" He said once more with a hint of irritation as he took his compound bow out. The three just nodded. Silver unsheathed his swords, Rin prepared her bat and Umi took an arrow from its quiver and prepared it so she wouldn't have trouble taking an arrow when zombies come unexpectedly.

Silver and Rin went in first as they held melee weapons. As they went in, they looked around only to see that no zombies were in sight. Rin dropped her guard when Silver said, "Appearances deceive." Rin just nodded as she readied her bat again.

"Let's split up. Get as many various supplies as you can, if you think it'll help, get it." Marcos ordered. "Just come back here once your backpack is full."

Umi frowned. "That's a bad idea Ibarra-kun."

"Umi-chan's right nya~" Rin said. "In zombie movies, when the heroes split up, something very bad happens." She pointed out.

"But this isn't a movie." Marcos said as he pushed his glasses up. "I know that splitting up is risky but it will save time." He explained. "We already wasted a full morning running away from zombies. As we tried to escape, we lost our way to the supermarket making us have to search for it. If we stay long here, we'll lose light and be drowned in the darkness but this time, we have a mere house without any barricades to protect us with."

Umi nodded but mumbled something along the lines of, "But it's still risky." The aqua blue haired male did not pay any attention to this.

Silver had been silent in the whole conversation. When they all went silent, he decided to speak up. "I'll take the middle path." The others weren't really left with a choice since he was already heading down it.

"The path's big so I'll accompany him." Umi said. Marcos gave her a nod of approval and jogged to catch up with the silver haired teen. Of course, Umi wouldn't have wanted to go with Silver if she didn't have any questions for him.

"Rin will take the left side nya~" Rin said as she headed for that direction. Marcos sighed. "She's still so energetic." He mumbled to himself as he walked to the right hallway.

He walked to the chips and cookies shelves to find it partially ransacked. There was no surprise there as this was a supermarket and the outbreak started yesterday. He took what was left and stuffed it inside the bag. Unfortunately for him, the bag was only half full so he had to continue searching for things. He passed by the electronic side of the market and found that all the gadgets and games were missing. As to why people would still get that in a zombie apocalypse, Marcos would never understand. He continued on in hopes of finding something useful in the process.

* * *

><p>Silver looked back to see Umi jogging towards him. Once she reached him, she slowed down and matched his pace. "Is something the matter Sonoda-san?"<p>

"Oh it's nothing." Umi replied. "It's just that… I have some questions for you." She seemed reluctant to say it.

"I see. Ask away, I don't mind." Silver replied. He didn't really care. He didn't have any secrets to hide. If it's about his family, so be it. A heart forged into steel has no problem getting over these kinds of stuff.

"Back at the mansion, you didn't eat in both dinner and breakfast. Why is that?" Umi asked. "You need energy as well don't you? You're a human like us."

"We originally planned to hole up inside that mansion for a week or two at most but since you guys came, our supplies ran short." Silver replied as he took some bag of chips and stuffed them inside the bag. "Since you are girls, you need it. As a momentary sacrifice, I decided not to eat. I've been through things much worse than that."

"Oh really?" Umi asked. "Is your family really that strict?" She walked to the other side of the shelf and took some more chips.

Silver smiled at the question. "It is more like training. My family came from a long line of swordmasters. This here…" He said showing the katana in full. It had a dragon embedded on the steel itself. It had altering gold and black cloth covering the hilt of it, probably for comfort. "This is our family sword, The Ryoson. It was said that this sword holds great amounts of power that came from the great emperors of Japan. My family was the one to safeguard it as it was my ancestors were the assistants, you can say, for the emperors."

"So your family is a traditional family as well?" Umi asked, walking back to her companion with the backpack slung on one shoulder.

Silver nodded. "And so, our training was very fearsome. They even forced us to not eat for three days straight and to only drink water in the night. It was very hard." Even if his past experiences were so sad and troubling, it did not seem that he was sad. In fact, the smile that Umi saw in his face seemed genuine.

"You seem to have enjoyed your life despite these things." Umi said with her own mouth forming a smile.

"Very similar to yours Sonoda-san." Silver said earning a small gasp of surprise that escape Umi's lips. "If you do not remember, we have met before."

"Really? I should have remembered if we had." Umi replied.

Silver sighed. "You really don't remember? I'm a Ryotaru and you're a Sonoda. I'm a swordmaster and you're an archer. Those and the sword's name. Does it ring any bells?"

He was trying so desperately to make her remember without him spilling everything so Umi had no choice but to really dig deep in her mind. _'Ryotaru and Sonoda… Swordmaster and Archer… RyoSon… _"Why is the name of your swords that combination of the three first letters of our surnames?" She asked.

"We're cousins!" He replied. Although his voice was slightly heightened, it wasn't enough to bring a horde of zombies running straight at them.

Umi just looked at him, still a bit confused. That's when everything just put itself together and along with that came a memory from when she was a child. It happened only a few months after she met Kotori and Honoka.

* * *

><p><em>"Umi, meet Silver. He is your cousin." His father said. In front of her were two males, one larger than the other. She recognized the older one as her uncle. Silver stood there just looking at Umi. "We will leave you here as we discuss about some things." The two old men left the room. Silver and Umi sat down on opposite sides and neither talked to each other.<em>

_Even if Umi knew that he was her cousin, she still felt a little shy without anyone to back her up. Silver decided to speak up. "So, which do you prefer, the bow or sword?"_

_"The bow, probably." Umi replied in a very hushed tone. Silver barely managed to hear it himself._

_"An archer huh? I prefer the sword myself." Silver said with a nervous chuckle. He really wasn't the one who strikes up a conversation so he really was out of his comfort zone. Little did he know that the girl across her was having an even harden time than him. "I envy you. I never really was someone fit for a bow."_

_"I-I could t-teach you once I learn to." Umi said silently to which Silver leaned in to hear._

_"Really?" Silver asked. "Then I'll teach you how to fight with a sword someday."_

_Umi managed a small smile and Silver smiled back. "That would be fun." This time, Silver didn't have to lean in. He heard it loud and clear and it made him happy._

_Their meetings after that were short as it was only more practice. They thought each other everything about what they knew on the art that they selected. Once Silver was 10 and Umi was 9, they were permanently separated from each other._

* * *

><p>"Now I remember..." Umi said as she continued to stare at her cousin. "I cannot believe that I actually forgot."<p>

"Yeah even I can't believe it." Silver said. "I've trained hard to use the bow but I could only shoot a crossbow since I don't have much time thus this." He said taking the mini crossbow out.

"But the way you aimed and shot while moving is impressive on its own Ryo—" Umi was about to say his name when she was cut off.

"Call me Silver. That is what you called me when we were kids." The teen said.

"A-Alright." Umi said. "Silver."

"Good." Silver said. "So tell me, how is your time practicing the sword?"

Umi looked down as if disappointed. "Well, I didn't practice the sword that much. I focused on mastering the bow."

"Why do you look so down?" Silver asked which caught Umi off guard. "It's not like I wanted you to master it. You know full well that the Sonodas should master the bow and us Ryotarus will master the sword."

"Yes, I remember know." Umi said as she picked her backpack up again as she was done filling her bag up, same with Silver.

"Well let's rendezvous with the others." Silver said. Umi nodded and walked back with him.

They reached the entrance to see Marcos waiting there while looking at his watch. "Oh there you are, you were taking an awful lot of time." He said as he looked up.

"I'm sorry Ibarra-kun, we jut had something to talk about." Umi said as she looked at her cousin who just nodded.

Marcos just waved his hand dismissively. "No worries." He said. "We just have to wait for Hoshizora then we can leave." He looked outside and noticed that the sun was almost to setting position given that it was already 4 o'clock. "I guess there's no other choice but to stay in that house we found and leave in the first signs of daylight."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Silver said. "Now, what happened to that cranky, time conscious man Umi fought with earlier?"

Marcos raised one eyebrow as he noticed that Silver already called Umi with her first name and no honorifics but he guessed something happened between them and he'd rather not pry. "Given that there is no other choice, I'd rather not fight with Sonoda-san again."

"Good point." Silver just said.

"I wonder where Rin is. She should've arrived by now." Umi said with worry evident in her voice.

As if on cue, a bloodcurdling scream was heard throughout the market. The three immediately tensed up not because of the fear of attracting zombies but because of their missing friend.


	5. Saviors

**A/N: So what's up guys? Doing good? I hope so. Here's the fifth chapter of this story. Anyway, review reading time…**

**KevinCruelz: Honestly, you never fail to impress me Kevin. Just minutes after I posted the chapter… you already read it. You're fast. As I said, don't worry, you'll see some references soon enough.**

**GAT-X105VividPanzer: You have Humanities subject huh? Well, that's good. I actually just learned about that in English since I'm not really in that year where I study Humanities. Glad I have met someone who loves Greek Myth too.**

**Rena Bodewig: What did happen to Rin? Well your question will be answered in this chapter so read on!**

**Glad you guys liked the idea of Silver and Umi being cousins. It just occurred to me while I was writing. Anyway, enjoy…**

* * *

><p>"Rin!" Umi exclaimed as she bolted to where Rin headed for with Silver and Marcos behind her.<p>

"Umi, wait!" Silver ordered but his cousin didn't slow down her pace.

The blue haired girl was worried for her cat like friend. In the past months, they have grown closer together and seeing one disappear would be… catastrophic and depression would wash over the entire group. _'Rin, please be alive.'_ Under all that reasoning was a hidden motive but even she didn't know that.

As they reached to where they thought the scream originated from, a bunch of zombies have already appeared around the source. They could hear someone crying even if the most dominant sound is the moaning of the zombies. Silver pulled Umi back as she was tempted to dive in the horde of zombies.

"Cover me." The silver haired boy simply said as he raised his sword. He looked at the two and nodded. Marcos and Umi let their arrows fly, hitting multiple zombies as they continued to shoot. Silver sliced his way through and was careful into not getting himself bit. This continued for what seemed to be ages when it was only a matter of minutes. They were exhausted but Silver trudged forward and kept slicing and stabbing zombies in the head and soon enough, the living dead were all dead once more. When they looked at the cowering teen, she wasn't Rin, that's for sure.

"Hey guys. I thought we were going to meet up the entrance nya~" Rin said as she appeared from Marcos and Umi's backs.

"Rin?" Umi gasped as she looked at Rin. Marcos mimicked her movement.

"But… then who did we just save?" Marcos asked as he looked at Silver who did not move from his position. "Ryotaru, who is that?"

"I have no idea." Silver replied. "But she's injured."

Marcos, Umi and Rin headed for where Silver was. When they looked at her, she was visibly shaken by the experience but who blames her? She had long wine brown hair which was currently messy as she sobbed in her hands.

"Are you alright?" Marcos asked as he knelt down beside the weeping girl.

"T-Thank you." The girl managed to get out but she still did not look up from her position. She did not look like she had any intentions of looking up to them.

"We need to go." The aqua blue haired boy said. "Your scream must've attracted all the zombies in the perimeter. If we don't leave now, we will get trapped in here and die."

The girl slowly looked up. "A-Alright." She reached for Marcos's hand as he helped her up. She stood up but stumbled as she put weight on her right leg causing her to fall into Marcos who luckily held his ground.

"Injured remember?" Silver said.

"S-Sorry." She said as she tried to stand up by herself only to fail once more. Rin immediately went to her side in order to support her. "Thank you."

"No problem nya~" Rin replied earning a small giggle from the girl.

"That's cute." She said.

"Ryotaru, go scout the perimeter. Check if there are any zombies alright?" Marcos ordered.

Silver, despite being older than Marcos, obeyed. He disappeared as he turned into a corner. "What's your name?" Umi asked.

"Wakanashi Rena." The girl replied.

"Nice to meet you Wakanashi-san." Rin said. "I'm-"

She was cut off as Silver called out to them. "They're still at a distance and we'll be able to make it back to the house without any hindrance if we hurry." He reported earning a smile from Marcos.

"Good." Marcos said. "Let's go." He led the group outside but was growing more and more irritated at the pace they were going and the first to notice it was the first guy he met, Silver.

"Ibarra… Are you alright?" He asked.

"We're too slow." Marcos replied. "How far were the zombies?"

"Not far." The swordmaster replied. "From that position…" He pointed at the top of a slope. "They're about 10 meters when I went there."

Marcos looked back to see Rena and Rin stumbling repeatedly as Rena wasn't accustomed to walking like this. A scowl appeared on his face as he looked away. "We'll leave you if you don't go faster." He warned her.

Rena whimpered when she heard the tone of Marcos's voice. "I-I'm sorry."

"Ibarra-kun, you shouldn't get angry at someone who's injured." Umi said. "It's not really her fault that she's injured."

"It is. Her carelessness led to an accident." Marcos replied. "And that accident might just lead to our demise."

"Now's not really the time to be arguing you two." Silver said firmly. Being the oldest and when Silver says something he really wants to be followed, his voice is firm and commanding as if you can't disobey it, the two just closed their mouths. "Now let's go." He said going to Rin and kneeling down. "Get on. It'll be faster."

Rena obeyed and got on Silver. Marcos just led them back to the house…

Or at least that was the plan which crumbled apart when a flock of zombies came out of nowhere. The five were shocked by the sudden turn of events and they had to run away from the horde. It didn't take long 'till they lost their way. All of them finally felt the tiredness that they repressed earlier on. The one who was struck with the most tiredness was Silver as he didn't eat and now he was carrying extra weight. "I can't… I can't take it anymore. I'm too tired." He told them. His legs felt like pudding and his back started to ache. "This isn't good for me."

"Just a little more Silver!" Umi encouraged. "We just need to find somewhere to hide!"

"I… Dammit!" Silver exclaimed and with one burst of adrenaline, he outran the others and turned sharply in turns. The others were having trouble keeping up with his adrenaline surge. Marcos told them to turn left and he got ahead of the group.

"Th… There!" Marcos pointed at the house. He looked back and noticed that the number of zombies have decreased but there were still some and they still had to keep on moving.

Marcos slammed himself against the door and it flung open and they all spilled inside.

* * *

><p>"Mou, what is taking them so long?" Honoka asked as she continued to look at the door, waiting for the others to come back. It was already night and she was getting worried.<p>

"Maybe they just ran into some trouble." Kei said as he sat down beside her. "I'm sure they're gonna come back. They have Silver and Marcos with them after all."

"I know. It's just that I have this feeling that they're in trouble." Honoka said as she clutched her chest.

"I'm sure it's just nothing." Kei said putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Honoka forced a smile out. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Now come on, let's eat." Kei said as he stood up and led Honoka to the dining room where all the others were.

"Did they come back yet?" Hanayo asked as she looked at the two.

Honoka shook her head.

"They're really taking their sweet time aren't they?" Maki said.

* * *

><p>"Still no sign of them…" Kei muttered to himself. He was on night duty and he was currently holding his bat while sitting on the couch that they faced in front of the front door. It has been at least 10 hours since they were last seen and the others began to worry. He reassured them that the group was fine and told them to go to sleep and in the next day, they'll see their friends again. That's what he said but he, himself, wasn't sure if he was going to see them again. He walked to the window and peered out only to be met by an ocean of darkness. The street lights kept flickering on and off and the only thing he could see were the silhouettes of walking people and he was quite sure that those people were dead. He sighed and went back to his seat.<p>

"I knew it." A voice said from behind him. He looked back to see the crimson haired girl he always admired when he was an avid fan of Muse. He has heard of her as being the composer of Muse and he instantly became a fan.

"Ah, Nishikino." Kei said as he looked back at the door. "What do you mean, 'I knew it'?"

"They're not coming back, are they?" She said bluntly.

Kei sighed. "I don't think they will come back." He said as he averted his eyes to the ceiling. "Maybe they were cornered by zombies, killed by bandits or ran away. All of which would be considered, never coming back."

"I highly doubt the third option." Maki said. "But the other two are possible."

Kei nodded. "Indeed it is." His gaze went to Maki. "Should we go look for them or just hope against all odds that they return safely?"

"I don't particularly care for it but…" Maki looked at the rooms and sighed. "But if Umi or Rin would disappear then they'll be sad… depressed."

"And you don't want them to see all sad." Kei continued.

"Of course I wouldn't. We won't live if our group would be like that." Maki said.

Kei rolled his eyes as he picked his baseball bat up. "Of course. We'd die. Not because you're worried for them."

Maki just looked away with a slight blush on her face. She picked the sword up and walked to the door. "C-Come on, before the others wake up and notice that we're gone."

"Just us two?" Kei asked. "Isn't that a tad bit too dangerous?"

"Are you saying that you can't handle a girl and protect yourself at the same time Takamitsu-kun?" Maki asked with a smirk on her face.

"What are you talking about?" Kei replied. "Of course I can do that! Who do you think I am?"

It was Maki's expected reaction. Kei walked to the door and flung it open. "Come on Nishikino. We still need to find them and get back before they all wake up."

"Right." Maki said as she followed Kei out. She placed a note on the table saying that they were going to search for the others and not to follow them. The red haired boy was already walking down the street when he stopped and looked back to see Maki looking at the house. "We'll be back." She said and closed the door. "Let's go."

And so the two went on their own journey to find their missing friends and leaving the six girls by themselves inside the house, blissfully asleep and not knowing anything that was happening.

**A/N: So, did anyone expect Rin to not be the culprit of the scream? And do you guys think that Maki and Kei going out by themselves to find their friends a good idea? Well, see you guys in the next chapter.**


	6. Worries

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back from the dead!**

**KevinCruelz: Sonic huh? Well fast is better.**

**Rena Bodewig: The others are in a different house than what Marcos barged into.**

**GAT-X105VividPanzer: True that in many horror movies, splitting up is never a good idea. That's why I made them split up. Yeah, what if right Umi came back when the others left… what if…**

**Dash24zappshift: Nice to see you back. *smacks somebody with a cane* Every reviewer is very important! And don't worry, we're not in a life-or-death situation in where Nico would get all badass yet.**

The two crimson haired teens walked down the path to the supermarket to see a bunch of zombies already piling up. "Oh man, let's just hope they're not there." Kei said. Maki nodded her head.

"But where would they be if not there?" Maki asked.

"I don't know. They could've escape given that Marcos won't be stupid enough to let them die cornered." Kei said as he began to look around. The lack of light made it hard to see and the street lights weren't helping much as it kept flickering on and off.

"That is true." Maki said as she watched her acquaintance as he looked around. "What are you looking for anyway?"

"Bread crumbs…" Kei muttered.

"Bread crumbs?" Maki repeated. "Why would you be looking for-" She cut herself off as she knew the answer to it. Bread crumbs as in a trail leading to their friends. "You could at least just say that you were looking for something related to them." She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. She looked around at first to see if they attracted any zombies but it seemed that they were too far away to hear them.

Kei noticed something shining just down an alley so he walked there with his bat ready. Maki just followed him with her eyes. He picked it up and saw that it was a pocket watch with a dragon engraved on the front. "This is Sil—Ryotaru's."

Maki raised an eyebrow on Kei's stutter but there were more important things to worry about. "So they must have gone down this path."

"Indeed." Kei said putting the watch in his pocket and raising his bat up again. "Where do you think they are now? There are endless rows of houses here. They could be in any one of them."

"Or none at all." Maki added. She still hasn't ruled out the possibility of the group dead.

"Now, now, don't be like that Nishikino." Kei said. "I thought you wanted them to be alive… for the others remember?" He said.

"Well yeah but if they really are-"

"Maybe you should think positively. Someone should really teach you that." Kei said before pulling Maki into the alley to search for their friends.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Guys wake up!" Eri exclaimed as she flung the door open.

They all groaned. "Why Eri-chi?" Nozomi asked. She looked outside.

"Maki and Takamitsu-kun are gone and left this." Eri explained and showed them the note. They got out of bed and formed a circled around Eri.

"B-But why?" Honoka asked. "They should've woken us up!"

"Maybe they just wanted to get them back before we woke up." Hanayo suggested. "So that we wouldn't worry."

"Well it's not working well now is it!" Nico exclaimed. "Honestly, Maki should know better."

"We should look for them too." Honoka said already grabbing the gun she left on the drawer and headed for the door when Nozomi grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Nozomi?"

"Let's not act impulsively." Nozomi said. "What if Umi and the others come back when we're gone?"

Honoka looked down.

"Maybe we could just call them." Kotori said. The others mentally slapped themselves because they forgot that they had their phones with them. Kotori took hers out but noticed that there was no signal.

"There's no signal…" Honoka said looking devastated.

"Let's stay here in devise a plan first." Eri suggested to which everyone agrees to.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Maki and Kei were at an alley panting as they ran away from a lot of zombies. "We… managed to lose them…" Kei said.

"Yeah." Maki said as she leaned on the wall. She slid down to sit. "We should've stayed at the house…"

Kei sighed and sat down beside her. "Yeah, we should've."

"We can't stay here can we?" Maki asked. "I'm tired."

"No, unfortunately we can't." Kei replied. "But I'm tired too."

Maki looked up to see that the sky was brightening up. "It's already sunrise? Well that's cool."

"Yeah, that also means that the others are awake." Kei replied. "They must be really worried."

"True." Maki replied. She grabbed the hold of her sword and stood up. "Come on. Let's go."

"Alright." Kei sighed as he stood up. "So we got here from that way…" He said pointing to the left side. "So let's proceed that way." He said pointing at the opposite direction. "Higher chance of meeting them right?"

"I would just assume that you are right." Maki said before the two bounded off into the unknown.

The two were looking at what seemed to be hope. It was a police station. Why hope? It had guns, protection and possibly, their friends were sheltering inside. Of course they could be wrong and the only thing awaiting for them is a zombie infested place but it didn't hurt to try. They slowly crept towards the entrance and Kei peeked inside through the window. Not a soul was in sight. He slowly reached for the door and tried turning the handle only to find that it won't turn. "It's locked." He told Maki who just sighed.

"Then we just have to pick it…" Maki replied as she took a pin from her pocket. "Cover me." She said as she knelt down and faced the knob. She bent the pin and inserted it inside the keyhole.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Kei asked in disbelief. She was rich wasn't she? Then why did she know such a technique that would fit your common thieves?

"I used to pick locks before when I was bored." Maki replied. "I watched it in TV before and I gave it a shot." She heard the familiar click and opened the door. "After you." She said. Kei smiled as he went inside then Maki closed the door.

"Your parents must not have been happy with that." Kei said with a small smile before looking around to see that his earlier observation remained true.

"Well no, they weren't." Maki said. "But soon enough, they came to accept it. It's a pretty useful skill when you get kidnapped." She said. "Come on, let's go find some supplies."

"Sure." Kei replied as he and Maki walked to the drawers and shelves to find paperwork scattered all over the place, blood smeared on it and some dead zombies. They smashed the heads just to be sure. They opened the drawers, cupboards and other stuff. They even checked under the shelves. They placed everything that they found on the table.

"Well, this doesn't look many." Maki said as she stared at the weapons they managed to scavenge. There were two M16s, three .45 caliber pistol and a double barrel shotgun.

"It's not but it is certainly useful." Kei replied as he put some stuff down. "Laser sights, extra ammo and silencers." He said to answer Maki's gaze at the stuff. "The laser sights would be a valuable asset to us since none of us have fired guns before and our aims might be off target."

"You're right." Maki said. She looked outside to see a zombie with long brown hair in front of a huge horde of zombies. "Oh no… Takamitsu, we got trouble."

Kei looked out and clicked his tongue. "Get the guns. Let's lock and load." He said as he and Maki ran to the guns and took both M16s. They barricaded the door as quick as they could and then aimed outside through the window. "Fire!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The others have already left the house and were now following Maki and Kei's footsteps but of course they didn't know this. They were actually walking blindly around the place hoping to find either group. That was when they heard a series of gunshots coming from a certain direction.

"That must be them." Honoka said as she already walked towards that direction.

"But those are guns. None of us have one." Eri argued. She wasn't going to risk it.

Honoka looked at Eri. "But I really feel that it is them."

"But what if they're not?" Eri asked. "Then we would be in trouble. I doubt we can hold off bandits."

"But still…" Honoka looked at her with puppy eyes.

This made Eri hesitate and was about to say something when the shooting suddenly died down. "What happened?"

"Maybe it's all over." Kotori replied. She wasn't sure about it but it was a possibility.

"For better or for worse?" Nozomi asked with worried eyes and the others got what she meant by that.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**A/N: Does that zombie look familiar? She does, doesn't she? I wonder who she is. Guess and you'll find the result horrifying (Maybe.) Sorry that it took such a long time to update and that it's shorter than all the chapters before. School is getting irritating.**


	7. Guns 'N Zombies

**A/N: Actually the long brown haired girl was the OC Umi's group saved. It was supposed to leave you saying 'what happened to the others then?' or something like that but oh well…**

**GAT-X105VividPanzer: Ah, the pope's visit… I remember it like yesterday. But enough of that, thanks to his visit and some other holidays, we're trying to catch up with lessons as well.**

**KidoTsubomi22: Nope, not Anju.**

**Rena Bodewig: No more clues 'cause it'll be revealed in this chapter.**

**KevinCruelz: They aren't that bad but the amount of guns they collected is what they referred to as bad. Not Hanayo though. I'm surprised you're not the first one to review.**

* * *

><p>"Please Eri-chan, Nozomi-chan!" Honoka pleaded. She didn't like the sudden stop of the gunshots and she had a feeling that it was their friends after all. She wasn't sure why she felt that way though. "We have to go there!"<p>

"B-But Honoka-chan…" Nozomi started when Eri looked over her way. The look the blonde gave her signaled one thing. Nozomi sighed. "Well, let's hurry then. We might just miss them."

Honoka's eyes brightened up. "Well what are we waiting for?" She asked before pointing at the direction of the gunshots. "Let's go!"

The others smiled at her enthusiasm and sudden burst of energy but they knew that deep inside, Honoka was panicking. For all she knew, her childhood friend was in there being overwhelmed by the zombies or maybe their calm composer which she has grown close to was being eaten by said zombies. There were a million possibilities and going there was the only way to quell her doubts.

The six girls tried to navigate to the place but only to find themselves lost. They used their memories on where the sound originated from as their guide but as they avoided zombies and had hundreds of buildings blocking them, they soon forgot where it was.

"We're lost…" Hanayo pointed out as she leaned on the wall for support. They had been walking without stop and most were tired.

"Yeah, without the sounds, we can't get there." Nozomi pointed out.

Everyone nodded sadly. "Well let's just hope that it's not our friends there." Eri said when they suddenly heard a 'hey!' from somewhere above. They all looked up to see Rin waving from a window. Then they saw Rin get pulled back and saw Marcos peek out. He gave them a little wave and gestured that they would come down momentarily.

"I can't believe you guys are here." Silver admitted looking at the other group. "We got lost a while back since we had to escape a zombie horde thanks to a person we saved who turned out to have been bitten and that's the reason why she was injured."

"No wonder you guys didn't come back." Eri said with a little hint of worry.

"Well there was actually no need to worry. There are four of us after all." Umi said before she was tackled to a hug by Honoka.

"Umi-chan… I'm glad you're fine!" Honoka said which was pretty muffled as she buried her face on Umi.

Umi simple petted her head. "It's alright Honoka." She decided not to push the ginger haired female away since she, herself, was pretty worried about the wellbeing of her group mates and friends.

After the exchange, Hanayo went to Rin with tears at the edge of her eyes. "Rin-chan…"

"Kayo-chin…" Rin was about to hug her when Hanayo was the first to move.

"Rin-chan!" She said while crying. "I'm so glad that you're safe."

"Kayo-chin!" Rin started crying as well as the two best friends hugged each other.

"Where's Nishikino and Takamitsu?" Marcos asked as he noticed that there was a stunning lack of red heads in the group. He did not mean to disturb them but the question was of urgency.

"They left a note stating that they were going to look for you." Kotori replied.

"They what?" Marcos asked, his voice a little angered. "I cannot comprehend why Takamitsu would actually make or agree to that kind of plan! It is beyond stupidity."

"Calm down Ibarra." Silver said. "He must have been worried and so was Nishikino. They would not actually expect that we would have almost been overrun by zombies." He pointed out with a sigh.

"The past is the past then!" Marcos exclaimed. He didn't care how loud he was because he was too angry to care. He finally loosened up upon Silver's words as it did make sense. "So where do you think they are now?"

"Probably at the police station." Umi said. "Remember how we passed it while we were running away? That's the only place that has guns and we heard a series of gunfire. If it's not Maki and Takamitsu-kun, then maybe it's another survivor but it won't hurt to look there."

"True." Marcos said.

"But where is it?" Honoka asked. "We got lost after trying to find where the station was."

"The gunshots were the only way of finding it." Nozomi said.

"But when it stopped…" Hanayo trailed off. By now, she and Rin have calmed down and were now listening to the conversation. Both were worried about their crimson haired classmate.

"We got lost." Kotori continued.

Umi and Marcos looked at each other as if having a silent conversation and the two shook their heads. "None of us remember where it is."

"I do actually." Silver said. "Photographic memory remember?" He asked leaning close to Umi making her blush and earning a smirk from Silver.

"W-When did you guys?" Hanayo asked.

Silver chuckled as Umi's blush turned to another deeper shade of red. "She's my cousin you see. This girl has absolutely no memory of me though before I revealed it to her."

"Umi-chan's cousin?" Honoka and Kotori asked. "How come we don't know about that?" Honoka asked.

"She forgot all about it when she met you guys." Silver replied as he slung his arm around his cousin. "And I met her before you guys, isn't that right Umi?"

Umi made a small nod. "It's true. I forgot all about him."

"Umi-chan, it's not fair to forget someone!" Honoka scolded as her hands went to her hips. "Especially someone in your family!"

"But…" Umi retaliated but Marcos's eyes drifted to somewhere else.

His eyes fell on Nozomi. The girl was looking down and wasn't acting like the usual. Marcos wondered why but before he could ask, Silver spoke up in his most commanding voice.

"Stop arguing you two." He said, his arm already beside him instead of around his cousin. "Your screams may attract zombies and if we don't hurry, we won't find Nishikino or Takamitsu."

The two nodded and they began to walk with Silver and Marcos in the lead. "Now, what if the zombies are already there?" Silver asked Marcos in a hushed voice.

"They probably are given the abrupt stop in shooting. Here's the plan, you and I are going to scout the police station first and let the girls stay somewhere safe so that they won't have an emotional breakdown if they do see Nishikino's dead body. That is assuming that they are dead." Marcos replied.

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Silver said. "We're almost there." He said in his usual voice. He stopped around a corner. "We're gonna scout ahead all right? Stay in there." He pointed at a door. "Until we come back."

"Wait, you two are going alone?" Eri asked. "Haven't we learned that splitting up is a bad idea?"

"We're just literally around the corner Ayase-san so if we ever shout for help, I'm sure you guys would hear it." Marcos replied.

"Well I suppose…" Eri trailed off.

"Besides, we lived without you guys fairly well right?" Silver asked. "I think we can handle a few minutes on our own." He said the words with a smile.

The girls looked at each other with worry in their eyes. "Well if you say so…" Umi said. "But I can go with-"

"No need for your worry." Marcos cut her off. "Come on Silver."

"Yep." Silver led them inside first, scouted it and then came back out alone. "Let's do this." Marcos nodded and the two walked off.

* * *

><p>"Didn't you find them a little bit too overprotective?" Honoka asked as she sat down on a chair. "I mean sure they're stronger and is capable of protecting us but that doesn't mean that we can't protect ourselves too."<p>

"But maybe they're being overprotective not because of the zombies…" Hanayo spoke out before trailing off once more.

"Then why?" Honoka asked as she looked at her fellow girls.

* * *

><p>Marcos and Silver was met by a horrific sight. The police station was overrun by zombies. There were hordes of them but they were slowly walking away much to the two's surprise. They silently snuck their way to the door to see a few, maybe six inside. The quickly decapitated them with only the use of the swords and arrows as to not attract the attention of the zombies.<p>

"Hey look, it's Wakanashi." Marcos said as he pointed at the dead body that led the zombie horde. "So it was a good idea to leave her."

"Indeed and there I was feeling all guilty for leaving her." Silver said before delivering one strike to the girl's head to ensure that she was dead.

"No remorse whatsoever?" Marcos asked as he watched Silver pierce their companion's head.

Silver shook his head. "If we want to survive, we must not hesitate." He replied. "That's the first rule of survival in my family's books."

"Indeed." Marcos agreed before looking at the table where some guns were placed and the floor was littered with used bullets. "So there was someone who made their last stand here? I wonder who."

"Uhhh… Ibarra…" Silver pointed at a red haired male zombie walking down at them. "Is that?"

"No way…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So what do you guys think? Oh yeah, I have one question, what pairing would you like in this story? This may include OC pairings. Well as always, see you guys again.**


	8. Happy Valentine's Month!

**A/N: So basically this is not a continuation of the previous chapters. Let's say it's and AU of an AU or at least an Omake or whatever. Ah, I know, a special chapter made especially for Valentine's Day. I've thought about what to write and based the pairings on your choices (which weren't a lot) so enjoy I guess. Whoo… Sorry for the lateness of this. As much as I wanted to actually post it one Valentine's Day, I ended up not finishing it so… Happy Valentine's Month guys!**

* * *

><p>"Say what now?" Honoka asked Silver who was sitting across her. They were in the usual restaurant. They have been acquainted thanks to Maki since she was a friend of Kei who was a friend of Marcos and Silver. Marcos and Kei were both from an all-boys school some ways from here but thanks to Kei's and Maki's parents, they all got together. Now Silver was a student of UTX High and he was explaining to them something very important.<p>

"A prom. You know, you take someone very dear to you, either friend of something more, and then party there." Silver replied. "UTX is holding one on February 14, Valentine's Day and they're inviting non-UTX students so it would be more fun. Well as long as they know someone inside then you can go."

"And that's why you're telling this to us? So that we can go?" Eri asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I just thought you guys might be interested." Silver replied. "It's not something that happens every year you know? Well for us, it is but for non-UTX students to go… Well it's just… once in a lifetime I guess."

"It does sound interesting." Umi replied honestly. "But do you really need a partner to go?" She seemed a little shaken up and Silver took note of that.

Silver had a smile. "Of course you need one to go in. But don't worry, we're not going to judge you if you go with someone of the same gender. Us students in UTX are pretty open-minded so it's fine." He replied honestly. He knew his cousin best and he thought that what he just said would help her calm down. It seems that he was mistaken. Umi was now looking down, blushing madly and sneaking glances at a certain ash-grey haired girl.

"Oh so, who are you going with then Ryotaru-kun?" Nozomi asked as she looked intently on the silver-haired male with a grin.

Silver's eyes darted to a certain blonde beside Nozomi before looking back at the violet-haired girl. No one seemed to have noticed it, besides that one he was talking to. By now, most of the other girls were already looking around nervously. "Got your answer Toujou-san?" He asked.

"Oh yes, I did." Nozomi said keeping her grin. Eri looked at her best friend with curiosity. Did the two just have a silent conversation?

"Well, what about it? Are you guys gonna go or what?" Silver asked as he leaned back on his chair.

The girls looked at each other, some blushes toned down, and nodded. "We'll be there."

Marcos and Kei nodded. "Us too. It sounds exciting."

"Great!" Silver exclaimed. "I'll tell Anju-san right away." He said already taking his phone out.

"Wait… you know Yukki-san?" Hanayo asked as Silver was already searching for Anju's number.

"Huh?" Silver looked at her. "Yeah, I do. She was the one who came up with the idea too. Excuse me for a sec." He said walking out of the restaurant and calling Anju.

"So, right now there are nine girls and three boys up for the spot." Nozomi said, her hands clasping together as she rested her elbows on the table and she had her all too familiar grin. "Now we get to decide who goes with who since we know each other and it won't be that awkward… right?" She asked with a tilt of her head. Once again, the girls' faces were as red as a tomato save for Maki, Eri and herself. The boys on the other hand were as calm as they were before she even asked. She hated how Marcos, Kei and Silver manage to stay calm even though she's teasing them.

Silver, who just came in, noticed that everyone was more or less embarrassed about something so she looked over at Nozomi, already suspecting her of doing something that would get this kind of reaction out of them. "Toujou-san, what did you say while I was out? It's not rare for my cousin to blush but the others… eh… you know."

"I just asked them who they will be going with and since there are 12 of us present right now… It's pretty obvious that we can just split into 6 pairs right?" Nozomi replied.

Marcos shrugged. "Her logic isn't quite far off. Since we're all friends here, we won't have an awkward time together."

"Exactly. Besides, it's just partnering so we can enter right?" Kei asked. "So why are you guys getting all nervous?"

"But right now, I think I see why…" Marcos said, winking at Nozomi in the process. The violet haired girl caught the message. "We should give them time to think about it."

Nozomi nodded. "Yeah we should… but remember, February 14 is on Saturday… better act quickly."

"I already got my eyes on someone." Silver said nodding at the two boys and Nozomi. "And as long as she's not getting asked out by someone, I'm gonna make my move."

The girls all looked at each other, wondering who he was referring to before looking back down once they met the gaze of who they liked to be with. They all left soon and the three boys and Nozomi were walking back together since their houses were all on the same road.

"Best idea so far Toujou." Marcos said.

"Yeah, I can practically still remember their embarrassed faces once Silver announced that the prom supports same sex partnership." Kei said with a laugh. "And this just might be your chance Silver…" He said turning to the silver haired male. "Your chance to finally get her."

Silver shrugged. "I think she got the idea that it's just to enter the prom and nothing more than that."

"Aw, come on Ryotaru-kun… I think once you confess, she'll get the idea." Nozomi said while nudging him.

Silver had a slight blush on his face. "C-Confess? We've only just known each other for two months and you already expect me to confess?" He continued to ask, his voice slightly trembling at the thought and his blush deepening.

"You know Silver, I find it very surprising that you, of all people, are getting embarrassed at the thought of confessing to someone you like." Marcos said, now wearing a smirk.

"Oh come on guys, give him some break." Nozomi said. The two were honestly surprised that she would say something like that. "He actually did us a favor. He was the one who convinced Yukki-san to make the prom open to the public."

"Meh, good point." Kei said with another shrug. "But seriously, who are you going with Marcos?"

"I don't particularly know." Marcos replied while pushing his glasses up. "But I think I know someone I may want to go with."

His companions' gazes turned to him, expecting for him to continue but sadly he did not. "Aw come on Marcos, tell us." Kei said.

"I believe that I am entitled to my own secrets." Marcos said earning a pout from Nozomi.

"No fair Ibarra-kun… We told you who we want to go with and you don't tell us?" Nozomi said.

Marcos sighed. "I do not remember you ever telling us who you liked."

"Because I don't like anyone." Nozomi replied.

"Oh really now?" Marcos asked.

"You know what, let's just wait for the day that everyone will just confess to each other so that everyone will be happy and that we shouldn't push anyone. Deal?" Silver suggested.

"No deal!"

* * *

><p>Maki was having a weird feeling that morning. It was a Wednesday and the prom wasn't far off. She had no interest in going but everyone seemed to be intent on doing so that she has to attend as well. She couldn't place a finger on what that weird feeling was but she felt like she was being followed or something. She turned around to see no one so she continued to walk. She wasn't with Rin or Hanayo because of some reasons the two won't state. She sighed and looked up to catch a glimpse of a red haired man as he turned left on the intersection. As she walked on by, the same red haired man was leaning on the wall behind him.<p>

"Takamitsu, what are you doing here?" Maki asked. "Isn't your school on the other direction?" Was he the one she felt? The one who was following her? No, impossible. He was ahead of her after all.

"Yeah, it is." Kei said locking his phone and looking at Maki as he put it in his pocket. "Good morning by the way."

"Good morning as well." She felt obligated to return the kind gesture. "Now, why are you here?"

Kei shrugged. "Ryotaru told me to head to Otonokizaka and he'll pick me up from there. He said something about taking me and Ibarra to UTX."

"Then why did you stop? You were walking a while ago." She retorted.

"It is not wise to walk while having your attention on your phone. The last thing I want is to get hit by a truck." Kei replied with his signature smile. "Well since we're both headed the same way, why don't we walk together then?"

Maki shrugged. "Sure, why not." She said as she began walking with Kei not too far behind her. "Do you have at least a slight bit of idea on what he's going to do with you two?" She asked, momentarily looking back at Kei before looking ahead of her.

"I guess it has something to do with the prom." Kei jogged up until he was beside her and asked, "Do you have any particular guy or girl who you want to be your partner in the prom?"

"I don't even have an interest in it." Maki replied with a flat voice earning a nervous-ish laugh from Kei.

"Is that so?" He asked. Suddenly, he felt like daggers were piercing his backside. He looked back to see one black haired girl peeking from a corner and glaring daggers at him. He let out another chuckle.

"What's funny?" Maki asked as she looked at Kei and noticed that he was looking back. "Is someone there?" She asked as she began to turn her head when suddenly Kei pointed in front of them.

"Hey, look!" He pointed at a banner hanging from a lamppost stating the Prom of UTX High. "They really went all out huh?"

"They did." Maki replied, forgetting about looking back.

Nico sighed in relief as Maki didn't turn to see her following the red head. Maybe she should thank Kei for saving her… "Why am I gonna thank him? He's hogging all of Maki's attention." She said as she crossed her arms and peeked around to see that they put quite a distance from her in such a short time. She started walking/following them all the way to Otonokizaka.

"Well, see you later I suppose." Kei said before leaning on the wall and plugging his earphones as he waited for Marcos and Silver to arrive. "Have fun in school."

Maki didn't reply as she headed to her room. She sat down on the chair and for once, not feeling the want to play the piano that morning. Her mind wandered to Kei's question, _'Do you have any particular guy or girl who you want to be your partner in the prom?'_ Since she was going, much to her dismay, she had to get a partner though she didn't know who would actually be willing to be her partner. As far as she knew, she was the most distant in the whole group.

"Maki-chan, good morning." That was the sentence that snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked at the one who greeted her to see the sight of Hanayo and Rin standing beside her.

"Good morning." She looked at the time. 30 minutes have already passed by and she didn't even know it. She just shook the fact off as she looked at her friends again. "What took you guys so long?"

Hanayo and Rin looked at each other and nodded. "I asked her out to the prom nya~"

"Oh and based from your expression, Hanayo said yes." Maki said and Hanayo just nodded, a blush still evident in her face. It was obvious that it was not just an 'invitation' to the prom but something that allowed them to get out of the best friend area and into the 'something more' level. "Congratulations you two."

"Thanks Maki-chan!" Rin said as she hugged the red head, much to her dismay.

She sighed and gently pushed Rin so that she would release her. "You can't do that now. You and Hanayo are dating aren't you? Someone might get jealous."

"Ehhh?" Rin said as she looked at Hanayo. "Sorry Kayo-chin, I didn't know." She said, now hugging her girlfriend.

"It's okay Rin-chan. I don't mind." Hanayo said while petting Rin's head. "Maki-chan's still our friend, no matter what happens to our relationship." She said with a smile.

Rin pulled away from the hug she initiated with a smile. "I knew Kayo-chin would say that!"

Soon enough, classes started and they listened intently in class.

* * *

><p>It was lunch and the girls were gathered at the rooftop.<p>

"Congratulations you two!" Honoka exclaimed as she hugged Rin and Hanayo and then released them soon afterwards.

"I can't believe it only took the prom for you two to get together." Eri said with a smile.

Nico mumbled something about Rin having such high confidence because the two were best friends before a voice spoke up.

"Did I hear right? Rin and Hanayo are dating because of the prom?" A voice, slightly garbled because he was speaking through phone, said.

Maki was holding out her phone which showed Kei's smiling face. He backed up to reveal that Silver and Marcos was with him at the moment. "Congratulations." Marcos said before putting something down on his notebook.

"Thanks nya~" Rin said while chuckling. Hanayo, on the other hand, wasn't taking this as well as Rin. She was blushing out of control and was feeling uncomfortable.

"Is something wrong Hanayo-chan?" Kotori asked as she noticed her friend's discomfort.

"N-No, there's nothing wrong." Hanayo replied, looking down in the process.

The boys looked at each other with all knowing smirks. "Hey Hoshizora, Koizumi-san doesn't look fine." Silver pointed out.

Rin looked at her. By some miracle, Rin got what they wanted her to do so she leaned closer to Hanayo, her face closing in. "R-Rin-chan…" Hanayo fidgeted and attempted to run when something locked her in place. Nozomi was just behind her.

Rin put her hands on Hanayo's shoulders, firmly stopping her. "Just stay still Kayo-chin…" She said in a soft voice. Her right hand going to Hanayo's cheek and she closed the distance between their faces. The others watched with blushing faces, Umi already feeling faint. The guys didn't want to do it but they stared at the screen of Kei's phone to see what happens. Their lips met and Hanayo, at first hesitates, but soon kisses back.

"Awww~" The three guys said, faint blushes evident in their faces.

Umi, on the other hand, didn't take it as well as the guys as she fainted almost immediately. "This is so…" She trailed off. Honoka and Kotori went to their childhoon friend's side. "Shameless."

"Hey Nishikino, give the phone to Umi." Maki obediently gave the phone to Umi and it was taken off loudspeaker.

"Oi, oi, if you're dreaming of doing that to the one you like then you better handle these kinds of situations cousin." Silver said through the phone making Umi blush even deeper and feeling fainter than before.

"Umi-chan?" Kotori asked as she noticed that Umi was practically dying. By now Hanayo and Rin have separated and were now panting for air. Everything around her dulled except for the face of Kotori and her cousin's voice. Kotori had her face very close to Umi and she resisted every urge to do anything but her cousin wasn't helping.

"Come on Umi." Silver said. "It's so close. Make your move. I know you're not gonna regret it." He continued on saying, smiling at Marcos and Kei. "Now or never. You know what, do what you want but don't tell me I didn't tell you to do it now."

Umi shut her eyes, focusing on what her cousin said but then it disappears. She was plunged deep in her own consciousness. _'Do what I want? What do I want?'_ Then everything came clearly as she opened her eyes, Kotori's golden eyes full of worry as she looked down on her friend. Most of the others were currently looking over her while the others were in the background. She slowly sat up, the phone sliding from her hand and crashing to the ground and thankfully not broken. Maki seized the phone, checking it for any damages before letting the guys watch what was happening.

"I'm glad you're awake Umi-chan. We thought we lost you a moment th-" Kotori was cut off as Umi kissed her.

"Oooohhhhh!" The guys exclaimed. "Yesssss!" The girls… well they were speechless, all except for their spiritual expert.

Umi pulled back, looking at Kotori. Both had blushes in their faces and Umi just realized what she did and jumped back. "W-W-What did I-" She looked angrily at her cousin in the video call. "You put me in this situation Silver!"

"What?" Silver asked. "Me? I wasn't the one who kissed Minami-san." He continued. "You were the one who made the action."

Umi continued to glare at her cousin who just chuckled in reply. "Um… U-Umi-chan?" Kotori spoke up making Umi look back at her. She was getting all nervous on what Kotori would say next. "I'm glad you feel the same way."

Umi looked at her with eyes widened. "W-What?" But before Kotori could speak up, everyone rejoiced.

"Two points for Cupid huh?" Kei said. "Thanks Nishikino, for sharing this with us."

"No problem Takamitsu." Maki said, ending the call.

Who knew that because of only one situation could get four people to confess to each other. There was still of course, the boys' cases where they haven't said anything to whom they would like to go with.

* * *

><p>But the silver haired guy decided to finally make his move. It was Friday and to be put bluntly, there were no classes in courtesy of a national holiday. Silver had already asked Eri out on a small hang-out as he called it. Now, he was standing in front of her house, waiting for her to come out.<p>

"Well Arisa, I'm off." Her voice said which made Silver smile.

"Goodbye Onee-chan!" Arisa replied as Eri opened the door and went outside, quite shocked that Silver was already there.

"Ryo- Silver-kun, how did you know I live here?" Eri asked as she walked towards the silver haired third year.

"Toujou." Silver replied simply knowing that Eri would understand.

"Oh I see…" Eri said, looking up to the sky and slowly wishing that Nozomi would stop doing this. "Well anyway, what are we suppose to be doing today?" She asked.

"Hang out." Silver replied with a shrug. "Get to know each other better, eat food, play games, sightsee… you know the usual." He said.

"The usual huh?" Eri asked. "I must admit, that sounds awfully a lot like a date."

Silver tensed up but not too much for Eri to notice. "Sounds like a date but it's not one." He pointed out quickly.

"All right, all right…" Eri said with a smile. "So, where to first?"

"You choose." Silver said. "I never thought about it." He said while laughing a bit nervously.

"Geez, if you're going to ask someone out you should think it through." Eri said making Silver look down in embarrassment. "But good thing you're with me because I know exactly where we should go." She said with a smile as she pointed at Silver with a smile.

This made Silver's heart skip a beat. _'Honestly, this girl will be the death of me…'_ He thought as he continued to smile at Eri. "Where is it then?"

"Before we go there… you need a place to go to first." Eri said as she went to her original placement.

"E-Eh?" Silver sighed. "Then you should've told me that first. You got me all excited for nothing." He said then looked around, thinking of a place where they could go. "The amusement park then."

"Alright, let's go." Eri said and they both walked towards the amusement park.

They arrived to see that it was packed with more people than they first anticipated. They paid for their tickets and headed inside. "So, what first?" Eri asked, looking at the man who accompanied her.

"The rollercoasters…" Silver replied as he pointed at one. It was huge in comparison to the other rollercoasters and the speed the cart was going looked dangerous and thrilling. The two things seem to go hand in hand after all. "Looks interesting, wanna give it a try?" He asked as he looked at the blonde.

"Do you have the guts to ride it though?" Eri asked as a joke.

"I accept the challenge." Silver said, grabbing Eri by her wrist and pulling her to the rollercoaster.

Eri stopped him as he headed to the rollercoaster and said, "Wait, let's try the others first. So we can still find everything thrilling." She pointed out. Silver just nodded and they went to a lot of rollercoasaters. They had fun and neither felt nauseous. They headed for the ultimate rollercoaster which made everyone's stomachs upside down. There weren't many people lined up for this fear-inducing ride. That much was understandable though. The silver haired teen didn't let go of Eri's wrist as they lined up but let go once they got into the ride. They had the first two seats and they looked at each other excitedly. "You know what; I think I'm going to puke to my heart's content thanks to this ride." Silver admitted as he examined the ride from that point of view.

"Don't tell me you're gonna chicken out now Silver-kun." Eri said teasingly.

This earned a smirk from Silver. "Let's see who chickens out first."

**4 minutes later…**

Both Eri and Silver were on their fours as the panted, trying very hard not to puke then and there. The other passengers were in a much worse state and some were already throwing up on a nearby trash bin. Silver managed to pick himself up and stand up, now looking at Eri. "Let us never ever do that again." He suggested, holding a hand out to help the blonde stand.

"Agreed." Eri said, taking the hand and Silver pulled her up. She was still a bit wobbly on her legs so she stumbled and fell on Silver. Silver, on the other hand, managed to stand firmly even with Eri leaning on him. This didn't stop his face from blushing and his heart beating faster. "Sorry." She said, pushing herself away from Silver and hanging on to the railing near her. She has a faint blush on her face too.

Silver checked the time, "12:41? It's gotten this late already?" He asked as he looked at Eri, she looked better at least.

"Time sure flies when you're having fun huh?" Eri asked with a smile. "Let's get some lunch shall we?"

Silver nodded and they were off to the food court. Unknown to them, a certain violet haired girl and blue haired boy were following them in secret.

"Order whatever you want, it's my treat today." Silver said making Eri look at him, confused.

"What's with the change of heart?" Eri asked. "You're not… scratch that, never like this. I know how you hate spending money on useless things."

"But treating you to lunch isn't a useless thing. We are hanging out after all." Silver replied, taking his wallet out. "Now go on, order anything you want."

"Well, if you say so…" Eri said then ordered what she wanted then Silver ordered what he wanted then he paid. They took a seat and waited for their order to come. "You know, I really enjoyed today."

"Me too and we're still not done. We have at least 5 more hours 'till you need to get back home to take care of Arisa-san." Silver said, sneaking a peek at his watch as he said those words.

"Don't forget about that place I told you about." Eri said with a wink.

"Why don't you just tell me where we're going already?" Silver asked. "I've been on edge thanks to that."

"It's. A. Surprise." She replied and the waitress came and served their orders. "Well, time to eat."

"Thank you for the food~" They both said as they dug in.

Once they finished, they ventured through the amusement park. Then, one thing that they haven't taken into consideration is Eri's popularity.

"Look, it's Eli-chan!" "Hey you're right!" "Who is she with?" A lot of girls were running towards them like madwomen.

The two ran as fast as they could to escape the horde of fangirls. Silver, on impulse, pulled Eri to the haunted house. The girls lost them when they got in so Silver sighed in relief.

He looked around. It had a creepy atmosphere; it was dark, decorated with floating lanterns, fake corpses and flying sheets or what it looked like to Silver just for him to realize that they were supposed to be ghosts. The door behind them closed. "Oh well, we need to proceed it seems. Le-" He began looking around. "Eri? Where are you?" Suddenly, he felt a grip of a hand tighten on his shirt. He looked back to see Eri fidgeting and holding on to his shirt. She looked as if she wanted to do more than just grip his shirt but embarrassment overcame her fear. "Are you scared?"

Eri nodded. "M-Might as well b-be honest." She said stuttering every now and then. "I-I'm sort of scared of the dark."

"Sort of?" Silver asked. "Well we need to get out of her as soon as possible then. They don't look like they're letting us out through the entrance."

"Alright." Eri said as she walked besides Silver, still gripping the latter's shirt.

Behind the entrance doors were Nozomi and Marcos. They have gotten the permission to make the haunted house as scary as possible just for the two and they were the one who closed the door.

"That should settle it." Marcos said with a smile.

"Yeah." Nozomi replied. "Ooooh, I can't wait to see Eri's face when Silver confesses to her."

They walked through the dim hallway with only the floating blue flames giving them light and even those appear and disappear on occasion making Eri whimper. Silver, on the other hand, was perfectly calm, disappointed even. He wasn't scared and since this was a famous amusement park, he should've found it terrifying to the point where he would act like Eri. "Way to get my hopes up…" He muttered as they entered the next room. "A mirror maze?" He said noticing that both walls were plastered with mirrors. "This isn't so scary."

Eri looked at one mirror for a long time then suddenly, a woman with a bloody face and dressed in a white, bloody dress and holding a knife appeared in the mirror. She screamed and jerked back, losing her grip on Silver and crashing onto the mirror on the other side. Then two arms appeared and wrapped themselves around Eri. She couldn't even scream anymore as she became paralyzed.

If Eri was a different person, Silver would've laughed… hard. It was such a priceless reaction and this was what Silver expected in such a high-budget Haunted House. "Hey, let go of her!" He exclaimed as he walked towards where Eri was. He was stunned for a moment as he looked at her eyes. It was filled with fear and tears were already forming. This was a look he never wanted to see again as he pried the arms off of Eri and pulling her off the wall, accidentally hugging her in the process. He attempted to break the hug but Eri just pulled him closer. "P-Please… D-Don't let go…" She was obviously crying, evident by the sound and the quick rising and falling of her shoulders. Silver instinctively rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her. "It's gonna be alright Eri. I won't let anything happen to you." The words escaped his mouth. He wasn't even thinking of saying it but despite this, he did not take it back.

Eri looked up, blushing either because of what Silver said or because she was crying. He didn't care either way. "Really?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah. But we really need to get out of here first."

"R-Right." She replied. She slowly backed up and faced the hallway. Silver, seeing her hesitation, took her hand and pulled to walk. He led her to the exit. The rest was as scary as the mirror maze but Eri managed to keep calm, by calm I mean she's not screaming a lot, all the way. She held on Silver's arm though and it looked like his arm was turning white. When they got out, Eri and Silver walked to a bench and sat there to calm Eri down.

"You were really scared. I never thought I'd see that side of you." He admitted, smiling slightly.

Eri did not say nor do anything to retort his statement. She just simply looked down, a little ashamed that she showed her vulnerable side to a guy she has only known for two months.

"Embarrassed?" Silver asked and looked up and sighed. "Well you shouldn't be, everyone has their own fears. You have a fear of the darkness, a common fear if I may say so myself. You want me to tell you what my fear is? You know, to make it even."

She looked at him and asked, "You won't mind."

"No, not at all." He sighed, as if a little reluctant. "I'm plenty afraid of heights."

"Really?" Eri asked, a little in disbelief before she frowned, "You're lying. That rollercoaster we went on was high enough to make someone with your phobia faint yet you didn't hesitate one bit!"

"Why would a guy show his fear in front of a girl?" He asked. _'Especially the girl you like…'_

"Good point. I didn't hear you scream though."

"Then you should've seen me. I shut my eyes when it started moving and whenever I opened them, I become too scared to say anything." He replied, a little embarrassed by it.

"Oh." She sighed. _'It's very nice of Silver to tell me his fears when he did his best to hide it.'_

"Surprised?" He asked with a chuckle. "It's sad really. They say that the view atop the roof of UTX is very beautiful and here I am missing out because of my fear."

"Oh really?" Eri asked. "Maybe we should see it next time. I'll force you to look at it."

"Ahahaha… that sounds a lot like a-" He was cut off by Eri suddenly standing.

"Let's go to that place I wanted to show you." Eri said. Silver just looked at her and she took his hand and pulled him up. "It's quite far so we need to hurry."

"Uhhh… alright, let's go." Silver replied as the two walked side by side to the place where Eri would want to go.

* * *

><p><strong>Let's go back in time… to Friday morning once more and this time, in Otonokizaka School.<strong>

Maki proceeded to the music room to clear her mind. A lot of love was spreading this week and she wanted away from it all and she thought that the music room would give her that…

She thought wrong. When she opened the door, there sat Kei, her friend, putting his fingers on the keys. He seemed to be mesmerized by the keys and then started to play. Maki had to admit, Kei wasn't half bad. She wasn't surprised though since Kei has been taking piano lessons like her when they were kids. He often visited her house thanks to that. They were never close so she didn't talk to him while their teacher was teaching them. Kei stopped mid-song for some odd reason, as if there was something in the notes that caught his attention.

"Why stop?" Maki asked.

Kei looked at him, a surprised look evident in his face. "Oh hello Nishikino. There's something wrong here. It doesn't match the whole tempo of the song."

"Really now? Let me see." Maki said, walking to the piano and then looking over his shoulder to see the notes. She studied it and sighed, "You have a sharp eye Kei-kun." She said dropping the last name calling and switching to first name basis. The two often did this for fun. "But I don't remember this song to be in that piano when I left it."

"Oh, I brought this here." Kei replied. "Decided to just practice the piano. My parents dumped the piano in my house so here I am, trying to find somewhere to play it."

"How'd you even get in?" She asked, a little weird for her since this was an all girl's school.

"I used your name. I told them that I was going to meet you here in the Music Room." Kei replied with a smile earning a glare from Maki.

"Never do that again. Rumors might spread." Maki replied. "But I suppose I can let it go for now."

"Why are you practicing anyway?" She asked.

"I find playing the piano fun…" Kei replied with a smile. "You know, like you."

Maki sighed and said, "Why did they take your piano in the first place?"

"I have no clue." Kei replied and then stood up. "Something about my time being consumed by playing it and don't forget about the space."

"You almost sound happy about it." Maki said, taking the seat Kei previously occupied.

"Do I?" Kei asked. "That's probably just because I'm happy thanks to getting to play the piano after such a long time." He shot the piano a longing gaze.

"Just how long has it been since you last played the piano?" Maki asked.

"6 years have passed." Kei replied, a little hurt about the realization it seems.

Maki's eyes widened and her fingers unconsciously pressed down on multiple keys, making the two red heads cringe at the horrible sound. "6 years? That's when you stopped learning the piano with me."

Kei nodded with a sad smile on his face. "Yeah. It is. When I stopped learning with you, the piano was thrown away."

Maki's fingers lifted from the piano keys, sighing at the same time. "You could've just visited my house to play you know? It's not like my parents don't know you."

"Well you obviously don't know the agreement do you?" Kei asked.

Maki raised an eyebrow. "Agreement? What agreement?"

Kei sighed and felt the need to explain, his face having a faint blush as he thought of the words that could explain the whole thing. "Well you see…"

The door opened and slammed on the wall, effectively surprising the two. "M-Maki-chan, I want you to go to the prom with me! There, standing at the entrance was none other than Muse's center, Kosaka Honoka. "Because I really like you!"

Maki's face was as red as her hair as she heard this. She was speechless. Honoka was blushing as well and her attention seemed to have been so focused on Maki that she failed to notice Kei standing right there. When she saw him, she immediately gasped. "Kei-kun?" Her face flushed. She thought that Maki was alone when she heard the piano playing. "I… uhhh…"

"Well, I'm going…" Kei said as he headed for the door to find something stopping him. He looked back to see Maki's eyes pleading for help. He walked to the door and then leaned on the doorframe. An action she knows full well, 'Your problem, not mine. Handle this on your own.'

A moment passed in utter silence… and then two… Finally Maki spoke up, "I-I'll think about it… Honoka…"

Honoka nodded as she headed off but not before whispering to Kei, "Did you ask her out?"

"Nope." Kei replied straightly. Honoka nodded and quickly left. Kei entered the room once again and closed the door.

"What am I going to do?" Maki asked as she sat down, her face buried on her hands.

"What are you worrying about?" Kei asked, walking to his friend. "You should just say yes."

"B-But Nico-chan asked me out as well…" Maki replied. "I don't know what to do."

Kei put a hand on Maki's shoulder. "Good luck on your choice."

Maki shot a look at him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "You're gonna help me with this."

"W-Why?" Kei asked, not fighting her grip. "It should be your choice! You're the one being asked out!"

"No, it's not the choice." Maki said, her grip loosening and let go. "It's convincing my parents to allow me to go with a girl."

"Oh… alright." Kei said. "I'll help you."

"Thanks!" Maki exclaimed. It seemed like she already knew who she was going to answer.

"You owe me one if I succeed in helping you." Kei said to which Maki nodded. "Great… Let's go now then."

"Okay…" Maki said as she stood up and headed for the door as well only to stop and look back at the piano. "Can you play again? For old time's sake."

Kei looked back at her with a smile. "Alright." He sat down and played with Maki listening intently. She was drowned with the music he was playing. Soon he started singing…

_When your legs don't work like they used to before  
>And I can't sweep you off of your feet<br>Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?  
>Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?<em>

Maki was quite surprised. He spoke in fluent English but even she could understand it. She was sure that Kei was forced to go through many tutors to learn English. It seemed to be paying off.

_And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70_  
><em>And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23<em>  
><em>And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways<em>  
><em>Maybe just the touch of a hand<em>  
><em>Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day<em>  
><em>And I just wanna tell you I am<em>

_So honey now_  
><em>Take me into your loving arms<em>  
><em>Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars<em>  
><em>Place your head on my beating heart<em>  
><em>I'm thinking out loud<em>  
><em>That maybe we found love right where we are<em>

_When my hair's all gone and my memory fades_  
><em>And the crowds don't remember my name<em>  
><em>When my hands don't play the strings the same way<em>  
><em>I know you will still love me the same<em>

_'Cause honey your soul could never grow old, it's evergreen_  
><em>And, baby, your smile's forever in my mind and memory<em>  
><em>I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways<em>  
><em>Maybe it's all part of a plan<em>  
><em>Well, I'll just keep on making the same mistakes<em>  
><em>Hoping that you'll understand<em>

_But, baby, now_  
><em>Take me into your loving arms<em>  
><em>Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars<em>  
><em>Place your head on my beating heart<em>  
><em>Thinking out loud<em>  
><em>That maybe we found love right where we are<em>

_So, baby, now_  
><em>Take me into your loving arms<em>  
><em>Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars<em>  
><em>Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart<em>  
><em>I'm thinking out loud<em>  
><em>That maybe we found love right where we are<em>  
><em>Oh, baby, we found love right where we are<em>  
><em>And we found love right where we are<em>

Kei breathed out a sigh as he finished and then looked at Maki. "So, how was it?"

"As good as you were before." Maki replied with a smile. "Nice English love song. Where did you learn it?"

"Internet." Kei replied fairly quickly as they walked down the street.

"But I thought you don't play anymore." Maki pointed out.

"Doesn't mean I don't read notes anymore." Kei replied.

As the two were headed back to Maki's home, Kei was deep in thought, thinking on how he was supposed to help. Maki, on the other hand, was worrying on how her father would react. She still remembered how hard it was to convince her father to allow her to continue being a school idol and in that argument, her mother was by her side. Now, she wasn't even sure if her mother would support her. She was snapped back to reality when Kei snapped his fingers in front of her face. "H-Huh?" She looked around to see that they were already in front of her house.

"Deep in thought I see." Kei said. "Worried?"

"What do you think?" Maki shot back, earning a nervous chuckle from the other red head.

"I'm here to support you remember?" Kei said.

Maki sighed as she unlocked the door. "Somehow, I don't feel reassured."

Kei just sighed as they both entered.

The two walked to the living room to see Mrs. Nishikino there, sipping on a cup of tea.

"Hi mama." Maki said.

Mrs. Nishikino looked at their direction, smiling at both her and the one she was with. "Welcome home dear…" She looked at Kei. "And you too Kei."

Kei bowed. "Nice to be back Mrs. Nishikino." He stood up straight and flashed a smile.

Before the two could say anything that would lead to a lengthy conversation, Maki spoke up. "I want to discuss something with you and papa."

Mrs. Nishikino felt the seriousness of it and then stood up to call her husband. The two young red heads sat down, Maki on her usual seat and Kei right beside her. Maki was back into thinking, and worrying, about what her father would say. This became very obvious once Kei started calling out to her and she wouldn't reply.

"Oi… Nishikino... You awake in there?" He asked. Maki still gave no reply, here eyes didn't even blink. "Gods…" He then took a pillow and swung it in front of her face making her jolt back only for the pillow to stop, inches from her face, and then placed right back on the couch. "Now are you awake?"

"Y-Yeah." Maki replied, head looking down until it snapped up once she heard footsteps.

"What is it Maki? You know I am very busy." Mr. Nishikino asked. It was very obvious that he was busy because of his constant quick glances towards his watch and his phone which he held.

"Well you all know about the prom… Now I want to tell you about my partner. Two girls already asked me out and I want your approval to go out with one of them…" Maki explained, her eyes not straying away from her parents' gazes.

Mr. Nishikino sighed. "What has gotten in to you!?" He asked, his voice raising. "You shall not tarnish our family name by going out with someone of the same gender!"

"If I may interrupt sir…" Kei spoke up. "Why are you stopping your daughter from attaining her happiness? Family name should not be an interest if-"

"And why are you on her side, hm? Mr. Takamitsu?" Mr. Nishikino asked sternly.

"She's my friend sir. I should be by her side." Kei replied. "This is only for the entrance anyway…"

"If anything, she should go with you!" Mr. Nishikino retorted. "You were supposed to be her fiancé!"

Everything became dead silent after that. Maki looked at Kei, confused. Kei, on the other hand, was looking distressed.

"Kei… what does my father mean?" Maki asked.

"I tired to tell you earlier on… that our families have agreed on an arranged marriage." Kei replied. "But it was cancelled because I gave a condition. If I do not see you for a max of five years, then everything would be cancelled."

"So that's why you didn't contact me…" Maki said before looking at her parents. "Can you please allow me? It would hurt them if I don't answer one of them."

"I could care less on what they will feel." Mr. Nishikino said. "This discussion is over." He left, anger evident in his walk.

"Mama?" Maki looked at her mother who had stayed silent throughout the 'discussion'.

Mrs. Nishikino sighed and put a hand on Maki's shoulder. "I'm sorry dear but I can't accept it." She excised herself and went back to her room leaving the two teenagers.

"I'm sorry I wasn't of any help." Kei said. "How can I make it up to you?"

"By telling me about this whole arrangement…"

* * *

><p>"Wow…" Silver gasped. They got off in a place where there are next to no people living there. They walked on a dirt path and onto a cliff overlooking the city itself. Silver commented on the nature he saw and not at the sight, not being able to look at it and all.<p>

"You should see the view." Eri said, pulling him closer to the edge.

"W-What are you doing?" Silver asked, stopping Eri from pulling him. "I'm afraid of h-heights remember?" He said, slightly trembling.

"I got through the haunted house you know?" Eri said, pulling him again.

"This and that are different!" Silver exclaimed.

Eri frowned. "Not that much. I managed to face my fears so it's your turn to do it."

"B-But…" Silver finally gave up, allowing Eri to pull him.

"Open your eyes." Eri said. "You can't enjoy the view like that."

Silver braved it and opened his eyes. He saw the view in a split-second before everything swirled and a vision, no memory came back. The car fell off a cliff, his child form screaming on the backseat. He jerked back, falling on his behind and shocking Eri.

"S-Silver?" Eri said, going to his side. "You're that scared… why are you scared?"

"My parents died on an accident where the car fell from a cliff." Silver replied, eyes blurring as he did so. "I survived but they didn't. I lived in an orphanage with my older sister. When my sister reached the age of 18, they released us. She studied in a Military Academy while I started Junior High. Both of us worked part-time in a maid/butler café. We had to be scholars just to live."

Eri stayed quiet. She felt sorry for Silver. "I'm sorry for making you…"

"It's alright." Silver replied, wiping the tears that formed in his eyes with his arm. "Y-You didn't know."

Eri hugged him in an attempt to comfort him. "Hey Silver, I have something to tell you." She said as she broke the hug.

"Actually I have something to tell you too." Silver replied, feeling fine now.

"You go first."

"Uhhh… Will you…" He took a deep breath and continued. "Will you go to the prom with me? I… like you." Silver shook his head. "Scratch that… I think I'm in love with you."

There was an awkward silence that enveloped the two. Silver was waiting for an answer nervously. After a long time (about 5 minutes), Eri finally spoke up. "Sure, I'll go with you." She replied first, her blush deepening as she said the next words. "And you know what? I like you too."

Silver's face brightened as those words processed in his mind. He opened his mouth only to close it again as his mind stumbled for words. Eri, too, doesn't know what to say next.

"W-Well… uhhhh… what now?" Silver asked, his blush dying down.

"I originally intended to show you the view. I was even hesitant to bring you here after you told me that you fear heights but…" Eri mumbled the rest of the sentence.

"But… what?" Silver asked.

"I wanted a place with a beautiful view because I wanted to… to ask you to go to the prom with me." Eri admitted in a weak voice.

Silver smiled but then disappeared. "A guy, or the guy in a relationship in a same sex relationship, should be the one to ask the girl to the date." He scolded. "But I'm glad that you put effort in it."

"Thanks." Eri said. She looked at her watch. "It's 5:35 already? I need to get back home." She quickly headed for the dirt path with Silver behind her.

"Mission Accomplished." Nozomi smirked and emerged from the bush where she and Marcos hid.

"Agreed." Marcos said as he got out as well. "It went well didn't it?"

Nozomi smiled. "Yup! Just as the cards predicted."

Marcos frowned. "No, it was just what my calculations said."

"No, it was the cards."

"Calculations."

"Cards!" She huffed and walked away, back turned at the blue haired boy.

"Well, I bet your cards didn't expect this…" Marcos said as he hugged her from behind, making the violet haired girl blush. "Will you go to the prom with me?"

Nozomi smiled, holding one of the arms wrapped around her. "I guess the cards didn't mean only one pair would be happy."

Marcos wanted to contradict her again but decided not to break the mood. "Yeah…"

* * *

><p>Honoka and Nico sat beside each other and Maki was standing before them, Kei standing at the doorway as if guarding it.<p>

"Why are we here?" Honoka asked.

"It's about your questions." Makireplied.

"You mean… Honoka asked you too?" Nico asked in surprise. The petite black haired 3rd year did not know that someone else like Maki.

Maki nodded. "She did."

"So… who are you going to say yes to?" Honoka asked.

"Neither." Maki replied, a bit reluctant though. "I am sorry."

"W-Why?" Both of them asked. Honoka burst into tears and suddenly decided she didn't need to hear the reason and ran out… only to be stopped by Kei. "Let me out!" She demanded.

"Let her explain first." Kei said, struggling to keep Honoka from getting out. "It's no use Kosaka!"

Hoonoka continued to struggle until she heard her angel's voice. "Please Honoka, at least hear me out."

She nodded at Maki and then sat back down. Maki explained the whole thing and the last thing she said was, "So that's why I'm going with Takamitsu."

"Even if she will go with me, it's all for the entrance so you can seize her in the dance floor." Kei explained. "I don't really care either because me and Nishikino are just friends."

The two looked at each other. "Nico-nii will be her first dance then!"

"No fair Nico-chan!" Honoka said. "I'll be the first one!"

"No, Nico-nii will!"

"No, I will!"

"Me!"

"Me!"

"If I can say something, I should be her first dance." Kei said. "A mandatory rule, the two partners must dance."

The two girls looked at each other and just sighed… "Okay…"

* * *

><p>"Well, well, now someone here looks dashing…"<br>"Well you look beautiful too."

"I don't need the cards to foretell that I'll have fun tonight."

"Nor do I need to analyze it."

"Well you ready?"

"Who do you think I am?"

"You're too cuter nya~"

"You're cuter!"

"Shall we go now m'lady?"

"Yes we shall."

"This is not what I wanted."

"What makes you think I like this?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry again for the extremely late Valentine's day chapter. I'm stupid sometimes. It takes me a long time to get romantic juices in my head… much more time is needed to write Yaoi or Yuri. Oh well, I hope I don't do it again. The pairings included in this chapter may or may not be included in the main story.**

**P.S. I forgot. Guess the pairings in order when they all talked. If you guess right, then you get to give me one OC or even a pairing!**


	9. Siblings

**A/N: And here's the next chapter for the main story. Here's a question, would you like me to make chapters like the Valentine's one for every international holiday? Or even summer? Tell me and I'll do it.**

**GAT-X105VividPanzer: Glad you enjoyed it. It's hard to get a romantic mood to settle in. No, I didn't have a date. I stayed at home, writing the chapter (and not finishing it) while listening to one of the gayest songs in the planet. (Garden of Glass anyone?)**

**Rena Bodewig: Well wait for next time to confess… or don't wait for Valentine's and just do it! Go for it! You managed to mix Eri and Silver up but that's alright since you guessed all of them right! So, tell me what you want and I'll do it.**

**assassin101ist: I tried to make it as fluffy as I could and I'm glad it worked out with Nozomi and Eri's relationship with Marcos and Silver. Since you are a reviewer and thinks that it would make it better, then I shall follow thy command. I already thought of Silver and Eri's relationship though.**

**Dash24zappshift: Yeah, since two people wanted Maki to be paired with different characters, I ended up choosing none. But in the end, they did get to share a dance with Maki… but who got to her first?**

* * *

><p>"Seriously?" Silver asked as he unsheathed his sword and headed in for the kill. He stabbed the zombie in the head and it dropped dead. The silver haired teen kneeled down and examined the zombie. "Hm. It's not Takamitsu, that's for sure. He wore different clothing." He informed Marcos before he stood up. "But I wonder where the two are right now…"<p>

"Shhh…" Marcos ordered and Silver nodded. The blue haired teen pointed at the door to their left. The two sneaked their way to there and heard muffled sounds inside.

"Hey… some- -side… let's -ck it out." A male voice said although very softly that Marcos could only hear some letters and words.

"Wh—if it's n—them?" The other voice, a female one, asked.

Marcos nodded at Silver and the latter opened the door revealing the two red heads at the edge of the room, conversing.

"Ah…" Kei smiled widely at the appearance of the two. He turned back at Maki with a grin on his face. "I told you it was them. You owe me a hundred yen!"

"Not so loud." Maki said, signaling him to lower his voice. "I'll give it to you once I get my bag back." Kei nodded.

The two older males looked at each other in confusion. Both knew what the other was thinking, _'What happened between these two?'_ They decided to let it go.

"Hey Ryotaru, catch!" Kei said throwing the pocketwatch into the air and Silver caught it.

"Thanks."

The two males gestured them to follow and be quiet. The two red heads nodded and they both followed the two older teenagers to the building which held the rest of Muse.

* * *

><p>"Maki-chan!" Honoka exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around the said person. She then broke the hug, letting the others crowd around her.<p>

"We were so worried!"

"You shouldn't have come out to find us!"

Silver cleared his throat to get the attention of the others. Seeing that it didn't work, he stomped his foot hard on the ground, creating a loud noise that by then caught the attention of the worrying girls. "Please stop crowding her. She still needs space."

Maki nodded at his statement and the others backed off.

"Tell us what happened… if you were at the police station then you must've been the ones to open fire…" Nico said.

"Well… we were the ones who fired… first." Maki replied, looking at Kei who was a better story-teller than her.

"This was what happened…"

* * *

><p>"Fire!"<p>

The two red heads looked back to see two other men in black and white suits. The man in the black suit raised an eyebrow. "I said fire didn't I?" He asked before taking out his pistol.

Maki and Kei looked at each other and they fired at the zombies almost immediately. Maki was glad that she underwent training for shooting guns with her father for safety. It was usually just pistols but at least the loud sounds didn't bother her much. The recoil was more powerful though and she stopped every once in a while to prevent the gun from hitting her. The horde was too big and they started to worry that they won't get out alive.

"Give us your weapons." White Suit said.

"W-Why?" Kei asked.

"Just give it!" White Suit continued and snatched the gun from Kei's grasp before taking hold of his wrist. Black Suit did the same with Maki. They pulled the two towards a room and threw them inside and said, "Don't go out." He said and shut the door leaving the two in complete darkness.

Moments later, guns were fired again but then stopped. They couldn't hear anything again after a few minutes and then heard one again… in a distance.

* * *

><p>"And the next thing we knew, you guys found us." Kei said finishing the story.<p>

"Two guys in black and white suits? I wonder where they ended up." Eri said.

Maki shrugged. "Well wherever they are, we should just hope that they are alive."

"Indeed." Marcos agreed. "If not for them, you two would have certainly been zombies when we arrived."

"Let's thank them if we ever see them again!" Nico exclaimed. "Because… if not for them…" She mumbled the rest but Marcos and Nozomi managed to hear the words, 'she' and 'gone'.

"Well anyway, let's not stay here." Nozomi said. "It's better if we get moving right?"

"Right as always Nozomi." Eri said with a smile.

The violet haired female just smiled in return and they were off once more into the apocalyptic wasteland.

* * *

><p>"Can we… go to my house?" Honoka asked the others as they walked to nowhere in particular. "There are supplies there and I can change my clothes… Besides, I want to know if my family survived or not."<p>

"Are you sure though?" Marcos asked the ginger haired girl. "If you do see your family dead… it might break you."

"I'm sure. I will be more at ease if I do see them!" Honoka exclaimed, looking around if it attracted any zombies. "Even if they are…" She gulped. "Dead."

The whole group nodded. "Alright. Which way then?" Kei asked.

Honoka smiled and led them all to her house.

"This is your house?" Silver asked, almost at disbelief. "I'm a regular customer here." He said. They looked at the bakery/home of Honoka.

"Really?" Honoka asked as she looked at Silver. "How come I never saw you?"

"I usually come here wearing a cap and shades. Then a jacket with the hood up." Silver then tried to make out a word to describe him while snapping his fingers and he stopped. "I look like a thief back then."

Honoka then thought hard. "Oh… I remember you! You always buy the same thing on the same day of the week so we always have it prepared." She said with a smile.

"Maybe you two should stop reminiscing your past here outside. Continue it inside and when we already find what happened to Honoka's siblings alright?" Marcos said, pushing his frames up.

"Ah… hai." They both said.

"I'll go in first then." Kei said.

"I'll accompany you." Silver said following Kei from behind. The others fell in a line behind them.

When they entered, they were greeted by a very unsettling silence. "Spread out. See if you can find any sign of life here, may it be zombie or human." Kei ordered to which Silver nodded to.

Silver decided to look downstairs while Kei took the second floor. The others stood guard in the living room.

* * *

><p>Kei sneakily made his way to the hallway of the second floor without creating so much as a creak… alright, that's exaggerating it but it's still pretty quiet. He first went to Yukiho's room and opened the door, bat ready, to find no one there. He then made his way to Honoka's room and did the same thing only to get the same result. He went through almost all the rooms and the last room was before him. It was the Master's bedroom meaning this was Honoka's parents' room. He slowly opened it and his eyes widened at the sight…<p>

* * *

><p>Silver, on the other hand, had to search through the kitchen to find it completely fine. It didn't show any traces of being opened but what caught his eye was some blood on the cupboards. It looked so much like handprints. There was one on the top left cupboard, on the bottom center and the bottom right. He opened the top left cardboard and nothing but chips were there. He opened the bottom right and just found some plates there. He looked at the bottom center cupboard, it was bigger than any of the cupboards and could fit at least two of his size inside. Yeah, it was huge. He wondered what it was for. He then opened it…<p>

"Nothing." He said, sighing and closing it again when he saw a shadow looming over him, preparing to strike. Out of instinct, the silver haired third year turned around pretty quickly and used his blade to block the incoming attack. He saw his attacker jump back once his weapon clashed with the other weapon. The attacker seemed to have been surprised with his speed as he/she yelped. "I don't hurt girls unless they are zombies." He said sternly, rising from kneeling down.

"G-Get out of here." The attacker, who sounded like a girl, said. "O-Or else, I'll smack you with this!" She warned him. She raised her weapon and from what Silver could make out, it was a frying pan. Good thing it didn't hit him or he could've been knocked out.

"Please… I have seen weapons far more terrifying than a simple frying pan." Silver said, trying to intimidate this attacker.

Then another voice spoke up, "Please just don't hurt us. Take anything with you…"

"I'm not planning to take anything." Silver replied to which the two girls gasped at. "Can you two step into the light? I promise I won't hurt you."

The two reluctantly walked into the lighted spot to reveal a brownish-red haired girl who held the frying pan and a blonde haired girl. Silver simply sighed. "Let's go. Your sisters are waiting." He said. The resemblance was obvious between Eri and the young girl. It was a bit harder for the brownish-red haired girl and Honoka's relationship but seeing something about her that resembled her sister convinced him.

"O-Onee-san is here?" The blonde asked, happy at the statement.

"Wait Arisa… we're not sure if he's telling the truth." The other one said, stopping Arisa from advancing.

"Gods you're hard to convince." Silver said in annoyance when he heard something form upstairs.

"Hey! I think I just found Kosaka-san's parents!" He announced. A few moments after that, quick, hurried steps echoed down the halls, followed by a thud and sounds of sobbing.

"That must be Onee-san!" The brownish-red haired girl said, dropping the frying pan and dashing towards the Master's Bedroom.

"Y-Yukiho-chan!" Arisa exclaimed but did not go after her. She looked at Silver.

"Well, let's go see your sister." Silver said to which Arisa nodded to. They both headed to the living room.

* * *

><p>Honoka rushed to where Kei was. She saw the red haired boy waving to her and then disappearing into a room. She entered the room to see two corpses there, seemingly killed by a blunt object that was hit on their heads. She fell back and fell on her behind. She crawled back and hit a wall before her tears started to flow down freely. Her hands went to cover her mouth as she started sobbing. "This… This isn't real…" She looked at Kei as if suspecting him of the one who killed her parents.<p>

Kei shook his head. "Don't look at me. I came here and saw this." He replied.

Suddenly a new arrival came, "Onee-san!"

"Yukiho?" Honoka looked over at her sister before the latter hugged her. She hugged back.

Yukiho had tears in her eyes. "I'm glad you're alive!" She exclaimed, burying her face in her sister's chest. "I thought you were gone…"

"I'm glad too. I… I don't know what to do if even you didn't make it." Honoka said, hugging her sister harder. "W-What happened to mom and dad?"

"W-We let a stranger inside while the whole outbreak was happening…" Yukiho began. "Then Arisa came and we took her in… suddenly the man turned and bit mom and dad. They managed to kill him and throw him outside but…"

"Your parents turned." Kei said and Yukiho nodded.

"Then… I… I…" Yukiho kept saying between hiccups. "I… killed them!" She said, crying harder now.

The words shocked Honoka to the bone but she understood why. "D-Don't worry Yukiho, you just wanted to protect yourself and Arisa-chan."

"B-But still…" Yukiho trailed off as she cried in her sister's arms.

"Let it all out Yukiho, it's alright." Honoka said, patting her sister's back and despite crying herself, she managed to sound like an older sister.

* * *

><p>"Hey Ayase, look who I found." Silver said and Eri looked at him. Arisa appeared from behind him and both had smiles on their faces.<p>

"Onee-san!" Arisa exclaimed as she ran to her sister and hugged her.

"Arisa…" Eri hugged back. "What are you doing here?" The two broke contact.

Arisa looked at Eri. "Well, I managed to get out of our house before it got overrun with those things. Then I ran here avoiding any contact I can. Yukiho-chan and her family accepted me too!"

"Well good job Arisa. I'm glad you didn't get hurt." Eri said, ruffling her sister's hair.

"Yeah!" Arisa replied. "But… Yukiho-chan doesn't feel so good…"

"Why?" Eri asked. Arisa explained what happened for the past two days and everyone was shocked.

"It is as to be expected." Marcos pointed out. "It is an act of survival. She should not feel guilty. Her parents cannot be saved."

"I tried telling her that but she won't listen." Arisa explained.

"It's all up to Honoka then." Umi said and their gazes traveled to the stairs. Everyone nodded.

"So… who's up for coffee?" Silver asked to break the silence. It has been at least twenty minutes and the two sisters and Kei have not gone down yet.

"I am." Eri said, yawning a bit.

"Me too." Nozomi said.

"Count me in." Nico said. Soon after, everyone craved for coffee besides Arisa who wanted hot chocolate.

"Do you know where the coffee is?" Kotori asked.

"Nope." Silver replied. "But I bet someone here knows where it is."

"Come on. Let's go prepare some coffee." Kotori said with a smile as she led Silver back to the kitchen. Silver prepared the kettle and filled it with water and placed it over the stove and turned the fire on. Kotori prepared the instant coffee, condiments and chocolate powder for Arisa.

"So… why did you want to accompany me?" Silver asked the grey haired teen beside him. "You know I can maneuver around this place just fine."

"I just want to make coffee for everyone and see their happy faces." Kotori said with a sad smile. "It's been a long time since any of us has been truly happy because of everything…"

"Ah, I see." Silver simply said. He sighed. "It's been a while since I've seen happiness too. Prior to when I met Takamitsu and Ibarra, I was all alone… killing, eradicating… avenging…" He closed his eyes as he remembered all those times that he cut the zombies down without a second thought. He then let out a small chuckle as he leaned on the counter, looking up with his eyes open. "I wonder…" He mumbled the rest and Kotori didn't hear but decided not to pry.

"Do you have any living relatives? Prior to the outbreak of course." Kotori asked.

"Ah, yes I do. My sister, she's in the military." Silver replied. "I don't know anything about her now, if she's alive or not."

Kotori smiled and the kettle made a whistling sound signaling that it was ready. She turned the stove off and poured the hot water in 12 cups and Silver mixed the instant coffee into them and some condiments. He put the chocolate powder in one cup and he brought one tray out and Kotori held the other.

"Your orders are served." Silver said, doing his butler act back when the job was still alive.

"Enjoy your meal!" Kotori said, following Silver's lead and acting as Minalinsky.

The others caught on quickly and sat on the seats. Good thing there were different tables so they could sit like they were in a restaurant. The two acting waiter and waitress began to serve the coffees to everyone.

"I believe this is yours milady." Silver said as he handed the hot chocolate to Arisa.

"Thank you." Arisa said with a smile as she accepted the hot chocolate.

"And this is yours my princess." Silver said, placing the coffee in front of Eri.

"Are you always like this on your job?" Eri asked as she took the cup of coffee and sipping it, feeling good as the hot water flowed down her throat.

Silver leaned in. "No, just towards you." He whispered and then backed off and started serving the coffees again. This caused Eri to blush. She noticed that Silver did call everyone as 'milady' and not princess.

"Onee-san, are you alright? Your cheeks are red." Arisa pointed out.

"Y-Yeah, I am." Eri said willing the blush to die down and it did. "It's nothing." She continued and sipped the coffee once more.

"If you say so Onee-san." Arisa said, going back to her chocolate drink.

* * *

><p>Kei hated to destroy the moment but he needed to. "I'm sorry for disrupting the moment and all but we really need to go downstairs to check up on the others." He said.<p>

The two sisters looked at Kei, pretty embarrassed that they forgot all about him. They stood up and nodded and they were heading towards the dining area.

"Honoka-chan!" Kotori exclaimed as she saw her ginger haired friend go down from upstairs. "What would you three like? Coffee or hot chocolate?" She asked, adding the Kei in the mix since he proceeded down as well.

"I'll take hot chocolate." Kei replied with a smile.

The two sisters were confused at first and they set their sights upon the others who were sitting down, having fun and just talking amongst themselves as if there wasn't a zombie apocalypse happening outside. "I'll take coffee then!" Honoka exclaimed as she hurried to where Umi was and sat down.

"Hot chocolate for me." Yukiho replied as she sat down beside Arisa. She felt a little uncomfortable since Arisa's sister was there but she managed to calm down after they got into a conversation.

Silver and Kotori met at the kitchen once more, preparing the new orders. "Are you happy now Minami?" He asked. "Now that they have momentarily forgotten about… everything?"

Kotori nodded. "Even if it is just temporary… seeing them happy makes me happy too."

"You're selfless Minami, you are so selfless." Silver said, putting the cups on a tray. "You feed on the happiness of others." He then carried the tray on one hand and reached for Kotori's head with the other. He then proceeded to pat it. "You're a good girl. I'm glad Umi met you." He said before proceeding to the dining room and Kotori followed with a smile.

Silver served them the coffee and the two acting maid and butler stood before them with a smile painted across their faces. "We hope you enjoy your meal!" They both bowed and then went back to the kitchen to make their own coffees and drink. They proceeded to go to their tables of choice, Kotori going to her best friends and Silver going to the only guys table.

"What are we going to do now?" Kei asked everyone and they all looked at him. "We can't hole up in here because there is a mass of zombies in the area. I have no idea where we can go."

The others forgot all about the fact that they were in an apocalyptic wasteland.

"Um… actually… we did hear about a safe house." Arisa said and the others looked at her.


	10. OC informations

So this is just a character sheet and it will act as a guide if you ever forgot one of them. There are notes that will help you get to know them better or do nothing at all. This will be updated every once in a while.

**Kei Takamitsu**

Age: 15

Appearance: He has red hair which almost reaches his shoulders and has matching red eyes. He wears a black vest on top of a white shirt as a mandatory for his school. He also wears black slacks. He also has a dogtag around his neck which was given to him by his father. He has a black watch and is wearing sneakers at the moment.

Personality: He's a smart guy but almost always acts goofy. He can be a bit serious and always likes to counter people's statements. He is kind to everyone, animal and human alike.

Weapon: Baseball Bat, silenced pistol

Bio: Still not revealed.

Status: Alive

Notes: We all know that Kei hailed from a very rich family. He knows how to play the piano as well. He has shown no signs of remembering Maki even if they have met each other in formal parties and vice versa.

**Marcos Ibarra**

Age: 16

Appearance: He has short, neat blue hair and gold eyes. He almost looks like a genderbent Umi. He also wears glasses. He wears a plain black shirt and pants since his school didn't have classes that day. He wears a blue watch and fingerless gloves. He wears rubber shoes.

Personality: He isn't much of a joker as opposed to Kei. Marcos is usually calm and calculating when he can. He always thinks for the good of the group but doesn't hesitate to make decisions of sacrificing one member for the sake of all. He fairs well in pressure.

Weapon: Bow and arrow

Bio: He was born in the Philippines and was transferred to Spain then to Japan to finish High School. (More to come.)

Status: Alive

Notes: He knows chemicals like the back of his hand and knows how to mix them. He has also shown interest in finding the cure to the zombie infection.

**Silver Ryotaru**

Age: 17

Appearance: He has short, messy silver hair and dull grey eyes. He wears the usual white coat and white slacks of UTX high but by now has been smeared with blood and guts. He has a pocketwatch with the chain hanging lose on his left pocket.

Personality: He has two sides to him, one side that he shows to his friends and one side he shows to his enemies (now, zombies.). The human side first. He is kind and caring and often gets jokes so he isn't that offended. He tries to read in between lines so that he would get the real meaning when someone talks. The enemy side now. He is cold, merciless and doesn't hesitate to hurt. All the kindness he has shown to friends fades away into nothingness.

Weapon: An ancient but sturdy sword, Ryoson.

Bio: He was subjected to harsh training as a young boy as per the usual tradition of the Ryotaru family. When he was 13 years old, the car he was riding on with his parents had a malfunction and they drove off the cliff. Silver miraculously survived but his parents weren't so lucky. He was forced to live with his older sister in an orphanage and when his older sister turned 18, they were let go. His older sister worked first before going to a military academy while Silver worked hard to get a scholarship in every school he went to. He and his sister work in a maid/butler café. His sister graduated and now works in the military as an explosives expert. (More to come)

Status: Alive

Notes: He is very good with a sword and acts almost at impulse.

**Rena Wakanashi**

Age: 16

Appearance: Long brown hair and blue eyes. She wore a white blouse and a checkered shirt.

Personality: Unknown

Weapon: None

Bio: Unknown

Status: Dead

Notes: She died before anything could have been known about her.

**White Suit (Will be named in future chapters)**

Age: Unknown

Appearance: He has silvery white hair and dull grey eyes. He wore a white suit, white slacks and white dress gloves. He also wore black glasses. He had a pistol in its holster and a shotgun slung around his shoulder.

Personality: He seems to be forceful and gets what he wants.

Weapon: Pistol and Shotgun

Bio: Unknown

Status: Unknown

Notes: They just appeared out of nowhere. His partner is Black Suit.

**Black Suit (Will be named in future chapters)**

Age: Unknown

Appearance: He has jet black messy hair and black eyes. He wore a black suit, black slacks and black dress gloves. He also wore black glasses. He has a pistol in its holster. He has no primary weapon.

Personality: It seems he is the leader of the duo.

Weapon: Pistol

Bio: Unknown

Status: Unknown

Notes: They just appeared out of nowhere. His partner is White Suit.


	11. Safety

**A/N: Well… this took a while to make. Exams are coming up and it would probably be another long while 'till I post another chapter. I am truly sorry for this.**

**Weesah (Guest): I'm glad you find the guys to be compatible with Muse. Yeah, I've been trying to not rush the story but as you can see, I think I'm failing but I am trying my best to do so. Well you got the pairings right so you can suggest anything and I will do it. Trying to work on that as well, might take some time though. I thank you for telling me. Frozen maybe? I'm not good in seeing references. **

**Dash24zappshift: Sorry to say but this chapter isn't filled with action. The next one will be though. Oh come on Nico, don't be like that.**

**ChronoStory: Sorry to disappoint but I won't be using those ships if I'm going to go down the route I'm going on. The OCs is essential since… Sorry but that would be spoilers.**

**Rena Bodewig: They appeared in the whole flashback. The ones who helped Maki and Kei.**

* * *

><p>"Where is it?" Eri asked her sister.<p>

"It's somewhere downtown." Arisa replied. "It's another school that has been barricaded… they say."

"Who said it then Ayase-san?" Marcos asked.

"We overheard it from people who passed by the house without entering it." Yukiho replied. "We saw that they were well armed… they wore a white suit and a black suit."

"That sounds… strangely familiar." Kei muttered as he turned his gaze to Maki who nodded.

"Do you think it's a good idea to believe what they say?" Umi asked as she looked at her fellow group members. "I mean, they might be lying."

Honoka looked at her friend with a smile. "Or, they might not be lying. It won't hurt to try Umi-chan! This is our only shot in the dark."

Umi looked at Honoka then back at the group whose majority agreed with Honoka. "Fine but if I sense even a little bit of trouble… We're leaving."

Honoka let out a bright smile and nodded. "You got it! Well, what are we waiting for?" Honoka asked. "Let's go!"

Nozomi walked over to Honoka and looked at her with worried eyes. "Are you alright Honoka-chan?"

"Huh? Of course I am!" Honoka replied, continuing her smile.

"No, you're not." Umi said, looking Honoka straight into the eyes. "Why are you so eager to go?"

"Because I want to get there as soon as possible." Honoka replied. "If there are survivors there then we'll be able to survive longer!"

"Honoka-chan…" Kotori started but she didn't continue, only looking at the others to help her.

"You just want to escape reality don't you?" Marcos asked, leaving any considerations for her feelings. "The death of your parents… It is stored within these walls now. Every inch of this house reminds you of them. You want to leave, run away…" He then stared at Honoka, his gold eyes piercing through her. The latter couldn't take her eyes off of him for some reason although she was starting to tear up. "There is no escape Kosaka. Everywhere you go, it will follow you… the ghost of the memories… unless you accept it."

"Ibarra…" Silver looked at the blue haired man and then sighed. He looked at Kei who just nodded. The two understood. If they're going to go through this alive, they must experience emotional breakdown and get over it.

"W-What are you talking about?" Honoka asked, tears forming but still not falling. "I'm not ru-"

"There you are again!" Marcos shouted as he stood up, the chair falling to the ground which surprised everyone. "You're denying your own feelings! You can never survive like that!" He scolded, his voice embedded with anger.

This made Honoka yelp and tears started flowing down. "But I don't know what you mean!"

Marcos walked over to Honoka and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. Umi and Kotori was about to lunge at him to prevent him from doing anything to their childhood friend but Silver and Kei held them down.

"But he's…" Umi was cut off by Silver's stare. She saw that he didn't want to see this either but this was needed.

"Dammit Honoka!" Marcos exclaimed, his glare hardening. The other girls stood up to stop him but the two guys managed to convince them to do nothing. They had this. If Marcos ever does anything to harm her, they would do something… but for now, they should stay put. "Can't you see?" His eyes softened for moment before hardening again. "You just want to run away. You don't want to be reminded of your parents' death! So you want to escape it! If you keep on running, how will you truly forget it?"

Honoka's eyes suddenly grew angry. "What do you know of death?" She asked as she pushed him off of her. "Your parents didn't die did they?"

Marcos stumbled back and looked at Honoka. "My parents didn't die? They didn't die!?" He repeated in complete anger. "I didn't even know them! They died before I could even remember them!"

Honoka became silent and her eyes mellowed down against Marcos's hard glare. After a moment or two of silence, Honoka spoke up. "So you didn't go through it…" Her previous anger building up again in her voice and her glare. "Then you don't know how it feels to lose someone close to you!" She exclaimed, walking to Marcos and grabbed his shirt. He was taller than her so she had to look up. "You don't know…" Her tears flowing down faster now as she buried her face on his chest. "It hurts… It hurts to live without them…"

Marcos's glare softened as he rubbed her back with his right hand. "That's right. Let your feelings out."

Honoka made a small nod. "I miss them…"

"I know you do… but they're dead. You have to accept that." Marcos said. "You think you can stay the night?"

"Yeah… and I know…" Honoka said, her grip loosening. "I just can't-" Honoka fainted suddenly and Marcos managed to catch her.

Marcos smiled. "Mission Accomplished." He said before carrying her bridal style. "We're going to spend the night here. I'll take her to her room, come on." Marcos said and the girls nodded as they all started to calm down and headed for their respective rooms.

* * *

><p>"How did you know that Honoka would be able to move on?" Nozomi asked as she walked towards Marcos who was sitting at the sofa in the living room. The other girls slept upstairs. Muse was inside Honoka's room and Arisa and Yuiho slept on the latter's room. The Master's Bedroom remained untouched and so were the corpses there. The guys slept on the living room, on the chairs that were there. Silver and Kei were fast asleep on their chairs. Marcos was restless though and so was Nozomi.<p>

"A small psychological trick. You just need to push them through their emotional barriers, make them break through it." Marcos replied and gestured Nozomi to sit down beside him which the violet haired girl did. "But I wasn't sure if she could break it… but I kind of believed in her. Besides, every single one must go through it. We can't have someone having an emotional breakdown at a bad time."

Nozomi nodded. "That is a good point." She looked in front of her as she leaned back. "At least you managed to keep your cool, nice act."

"I wasn't acting." Marcos replied bluntly and quickly. "Everything I said were true. Although I did manage to stop myself from completely getting angry."

"That wasn't your true anger?" Nozomi asked looking at the blue haired boy. "I wouldn't want to see it then." She said with a smile.

Marcos let out a small smile. "No one has seen it… not even me." He continued, closing his eyes. "I want to be honest with you Toujou-san…" He was cut off when Nozomi spoke up.

"Nozomi… Call me Nozomi." She said. Marcos opened his eyes and looked over at her.

"Nozomi…" He tested it out before continuing. "As I was saying, I need to be honest with you. I never liked the idea of traveling in such a huge group." Marcos sighed. "But I was mistaken. Every single moment with you guys have been thrilling… thrilling in a bad way but… I don't know why but I'm opting to stay with you all than going in a three man group as we originally planned."

"Well Maki-chan was originally against the idea too since you are guys and well…" Nozomi trailed off.

"I understand." Marcos said. "It is hard to gain trust these days… especially in these kinds of situations where one might go crazy and slaughter the entire group."

"But no one will do that right?" Nozomi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As far as I know, we are all mentally stable." Marcos replied. "Unless something snaps, now that's a different story."

"I bet no one would break…" Nozomi started to yawn and she held her hand in front of her mouth.

"You tired?" Marcos asked as he looked at Nozomi. "Why don't you sleep?"

"Don't mind if I do then…" Nozomi said as she leaned on Marcos and just like that, she managed to sleep.

Marcos shook his head slightly. "I was expecting you to go to your room but maybe you're just that tired." He said before putting his glasses down and then closing his eyes as well.

* * *

><p>"Well, well, what do we have here?" Eri asked as she looked over to the two sleeping people on the sofa.<p>

Silver rubbed his eyes as he walked towards where Eri was. "I…" He yawned and shook his head. "Excuse me… I heard them talking last night."

"So they fell asleep while talking?" Eri asked once more as she still looked at the two.

Silver nodded before looking at the door. "Well, I'm going to patrol outside to see if we need to move or not. Stay here alright?"

"Sure, be careful." Eri said as Silver walked out of the house and into the streets of Tokyo which have been littered with zombies.

Eri sat down on the chair where Silver slept since it was the only chair available for now that could watch over the door. She looked over at Kei who was still curled up on the chair asleep. He looked a bit uncomfortable in the position but at least he managed to sleep. She then looked over at Nozomi and Marcos who were sleeping on the couch, looking so peaceful.

She sighed as she thought of everything that happened in the past few days. What started as a beautiful morning turned out to be a disaster. She wondered if any of the other students were alive. She wished it to be true but the chances are very slim considering most were already zombies by the time they escaped.

"Asano…" Kei called out in his sleep and Eri looked over at him. "Where…" He mumbled the rest. Eri could see that he held a pained expression on his face.

She walked over to Kei and rubbed his back as he started sobbing in his sleep. "It'll be alright…" She muttered. Kei started to calm down, the tears slowing down to a stop and then his expression turned peaceful once more. Eri smiled as he calmed down and stood up.

"Wow, you could be a mother." Silver commented as he entered the house, his sword still sheathed. He closed the door soon after.

"It helps to have a younger sister. Nightmares tend to occur very frequently when Arisa was a child." Eri replied as she walked to Silver's seat and sat down. She looked over at Kei. "I wonder who Asano is."

"Probably a best friend because I know Kei is an only child." Silver said.

"How do you know?" Eri asked as she looked at the silver haired boy with eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"We lived inside his house when the outbreak started remember?" Silver replied. "There was a picture there of Kei's whole family and he was the only child there."

Eri then nodded. "I see. He must miss her so much then. He began crying." She said.

"Probably." Silver agreed. "So, you want some coffee?" He asked the blonde.

"Yeah and thanks." Eri said as she found a comfortable way to sit down.

Silver started making the coffee and then headed back with two cups in his hands. He gave one to Eri before taking out a map he managed to bring from Kei's house. "So, where do you think this safe house is?"

"Probably a big house or building… an apartment complex maybe?" Eri suggested.

Silver nodded and took out a red marker and encircled all the apartment complexes in downtown Tokyo. "There's a lot obviously." He said.

"I know." Eri said as she put her hand on her chin as she started thinking. "Although, it should be big. Some of those are actually smaller when you look at it."

"So maybe we can cross those out." Silver said as he put a cross mark on some of the encircled buildings. There were just five apartments remaining and they were quite distant with each other.

"So now we should just need to discuss it with the others and then we van go." Eri said with a smile as she leaned back on the chair, sighing in contentment. "Finally, we can stay somewhere without the fear of getting eaten by zombies."

"Maybe." Silver said as he sighed. "We can't be too sure that they'll be nice to us."

"Don't look at the negative side Ryotaru." Eri said. "Now, what should I do while I wait?"

"I don't know… sleep?"

"I already did."

"Sing?"

"Where did you get that idea?" Eri asked as she looked unsurely at Silver.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe it's because of the fact that you are part of a school idol group."

"Well, I'm not in the mood to sing right now." Eri said. "What else?"

"Rest." Silver replied as he yawned. "I want to rest, that's for sure."

"Oh…" She realized that she was sitting on the chair that Silver was sleeping in so Silver couldn't find a place to rest. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize earlier." She said as she stood up only to meet Silver's smile.

"No worries. You can sit there." Silver said. "I thought of something else I could do."

"Really? What?"

"Cook."


	12. Travel

**A/N: Here's your next chapter, something I managed to write in between studying. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**GAT-X105VividPanzer: One of the reasons while I love the song. Yeah, Honoka's pretty strong if you ask me. Anyway, good luck on your finals.**

**Dash24zappshift: I am so very sorry that I am going to inform you that this is not an action chapter. It's something that would get it cooking.**

**Rena Bodewig: Wow, you really seem to like that pairing. I must admit, it's nice to make their relationship go further. The dating chapter would be put up soon in the future before anything bad happens to the three guys. Whoops, spoilers.**

**Thank you for continuing to support this story.**

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><p>As the others upstairs woke up slowly because of the morning light as all the curtains were open. The ones downstairs were struck with the delicious smell of food. Kei, Marcos and Nozomi soon stirred awake. Marcos reached for his glasses and then sleepily looked at the two who accompanied him. Nozomi stood up and walked to the kitchen to be followed by Kei and lastly Marcos. When they saw the table, they were quite amazed. It was like there was a feast since there was a lot of food on it. Silver was in front of a counter, preparing more coffee while Eri was still cooking soup.<p>

"That looks so good…" Nozomi said with a smile.

The two looked at the group. "Thanks. We worked hard for this. Now off you three go, go to the living room and we'll serve it there. Wake the others up too." Eri said with a smile.

The group of three nodded and went back to their seats. Nozomi headed for the others and saw that they were already rising, Yukiho and Arisa were already outside Yukiho's room and was awaiting Muse to go out. Once the others came out of the room, they all went downstairs to see the feast before them.

Two long tables were placed in the middle which was filled with food. It wasn't such a lavish meal since they only cooked what they could salvage. They mostly cooked the ones that they couldn't bring. Two plates of chicken legs, three plates of hotdog, two plates filled with break slices, a pitcher of juice, a pitcher of normal water, a pitcher of iced tea and some sweets they got from the store itself.

"Breakfast is served." Silver said as he pointed at the food.

"It all looks so delicious!" Honoka exclaimed as she snapped out of her sleepy daze. "When did you guys make this?" She asked as she looked at Eri and Silver who were obviously the ones who cooked it since there were smudges on their clothes here and there… you know, looking past the blood and stuff.

"This morning." Eri replied with a smile. "What time was that?"

"No clue." Silver replied as he checked his pocket watch. "Quite a while, that's for sure."

"Well, there's your answer." Eri said as she looked at her friends who were already eating. "That was quick."

"Hunger Ayase… Hunger." Silver said as he quickly tapped her shoulder and headed for the plates and started to eat as well. "I swear, hunger is the best sauce ever." He muttered with a smile as he continued to eat.

"True nya~" Rin agreed as she ate as well.

"You could pass as one of those people who want a lot of food." Marcos said with a smirk as he held his fork with a hotdog on it. "Craving for it. What do you call those people in my language… Ah right, Mga patay gutom…"

"Hey!" The two exclaimed before they all burst out laughing.

"So will this be our daily routine?" Kei asked. "We're gonna eat then Ibarra here will teach us some Filipino words then we're all gonna go back to survival mode?"

All of them looked at each other. Honoka smiled and then nodded. "Yup! So we don't fall into depression."

"Then I have to prepare a long list of Filipino words if we're planning on doing that. It's going to be a very long list." Marcos said with a smile and his voice full of confidence. It only meant one thing, Marcos was planning on surviving for a very long time.

"True, true." Silver said, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his right arm to wipe the remaining food that was there. He stood up and took his sword that was leaning on the table. "Let's explain the plan now shall we?" He asked Eri.

"So no more eating?" Rin asked with a slightly disappointed one as she took put her chicken leg down.

"No Rin, you can still eat but you have to promise to listen to us while we talk alright?" Eri said with a smile.

Rin nodded with a smile. "I promise!"

"Alright. Then let's do this." Silver said as he cleared one table of its contents before placing the map on it. He then took a deep breath. "So we found that the likeliest places that they would use are apartment complexes so we encircles the largest ones. We planned to go there. What do you guys say?"

"I guess it's a good plan." Marcos said. "I approve."

"It's not such a bad idea since using your logic on pinpointing the likeliest position and its spot on. I say we go for it." Umi continued with a nod.

Eri chuckled. "What is this? There are representatives for each gender?" She asked with a smile which brought the others to laugh.

"I guess it does look like that huh?" Honoka said, agreeing with her blonde senior's observation.

"It's effective." Maki pointed out.

"Yeah and besides Umi-chan is an ideal representative right guys?" Kotori said as she looked at the others to which they cheered.

The support made Umi blush. "I-I'm not that good." She mumbled.

"As humble and as shy as I remember." Silver said before folding the map and throwing it to Hanayo and she caught it clumsily. "You navigate Koizumi-san."

"E-Eh?" Hanayo looked at the map then back at Silver. "W-Why me? Umi-chan or Ibarra-kun would be better."

"Nonsense." Silver simply said. "You're gonna lead us to it alright?"

Eri caught on to what Silver was trying to do and then she looked at Hanayo. "We're counting on you Hanayo." She said with a wink.

"B-But…"

"No buts." Kei said and then petted Hanayo's head. "I'm sure you can do it Koizumi." He then backed away and then turned and faced the door. "Now let's go!"

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><p>"Where to next?" Marcos asked. He was just beside Hanayo to answer any questions she had about reading maps although actually pointing where it was, he did not do. Silver and Kei were in front of the group, Nozomi held her cross-like weapon ready as she and Eri were behind the group, keeping a lookout. The two map readers were in the middle of the group.<p>

"U-Um… Turn left at the next intersection. Um… not the alleys." Hanayo pointed out with a soft voice.

"Please repeat. I didn't hear it." Silver said as his sword lazily swayed as he held onto it with his left hand.

"Turn left at the next intersection, not the alleys." Hanayo repeated in a louder voice,

Kei nodded and then they continued to walk and turned left on the next intersection. "You're doing good Koizumi." He complimented.

"I'm not…" Hanayo said meekly. "It's thanks to you that I'm doing good."

"Not true. You use what I teach you, that's good enough." Marcos retorted. His ears perked up as he heard something weird… "Run!" He exclaimed.

"Why?" Silver asked as he looked back at Marcos.

"Zombies!" He replied. His ears picked up quick footsteps coming from behind them. He could also hear the mass moaning that emanated from the group of zombies that were heading their way.

They all broke into a run and this time, Eri and Nozomi were in front and Silver and Kei are behind. "Hanayo, where now!?" Eri asked as she looked back at the young brunette.

Hanayo couldn't keep on map reading while running and now the pressure was on her. "I-I don't know…" She replied.

"Koizumi!" Kei shouted.

"We need those directions!"

"Hurry!"

Hanayo was drowned with all their voices and she couldn't focus anymore. Her grip on the map loosened and it almost flew. "_Wag kang kabahan, chill lang…'_ Hanayo looked at Marcos with a baffled expression as she couldn't understand him. "Calm down. Just try and look at the map."

The young brunette looked at the map and then looked back at the street in front. "Turn left there!" She ordered to which the others followed. She continued to tell them directions and of course they followed. Miraculously, the escaped the horde by the time they reached the apartment. They all collapsed to the ground with the exception of the more physically fit group, the Scavengers which consisted of Marcos, Silver, Umi and Rin.

"Good job Kayo-chin!" Rin exclaimed as she hugged her panting friend.

"Yeah, great job." Eri said.

"You were amazing!" Honoka exclaimed as she too hugged the brunette.

Hanayo smiled at them. She couldn't believe that she did that. Her gaze went to Marcos who just nodded in acknowledgement.

"We're gonna go investigate inside first alright?" Silver said and the others nodded. "And don't worry since you'll be out here. Be careful on the zombies." With that, the Scavengers went inside the apartment building.

* * *

><p>It was quite obvious that nothing was there. It was even in ruins and it seems that a lot has already come here and took everything. They managed to get some spare full water bottles which they happily took. They all headed towards the exit but something managed to catch Rin's attention. She entered the Master's Bedroom and then saw a closet there with blood stains on it.<p>

"Rin?" Umi came in the room to see Rin looking at it. "What did you find?" She asked, nocking an arrow on the bow.

"I don't know nya~" Rin replied. She walked to the closet and slowly opened it, quickly jumping back as if expecting something to come out. Nothing did and the closet door hung lazily on its hinges and inside was another door. She walked to it and then opened it revealing a staircase to what seems to be a basement. "Should we?"

"Something must be in there right?" Umi said. "I guess we should." The blue haired archer was the first to descend to be followed by Rin, gripping her bat tightly as the descended.

When they reached the basement, they were met by a very… disturbing sight. In front of them was a blood stained room. It looked like a torture room. There were two beds with handcuffs built in it and on one side of the room was a tray. They didn't scream as they knew that it would attract some zombies.

"Umi? Hoshizora?" Silver called out as he and Marcos descended the stairs. "There you two are. What are you-"

"A torture room?" Marcos muttered. While Umi and Rin were just at the entrance, Marcos ventured inside, scrunching his nose as he the smell of blood was great. He then went to the tray and then took a scalpel from there. He began to examine it. "They used these tools to kill?"

"More like skin." Silver said as he opened a door revealing skin masks. He was visibly disturbed but did not show any signs of puking. "This is an apartment right?"

Marcos walked to another table and picked a paper up. "No… it's an orphanage."

"An orphanage?" Rin asked. "Then why is this here?"

"How about we ask her?" Silver asked, pulling a kid out of the room. It was a girl and she looked like she was weeping before they saw her.

The girl was holding onto Silver as if she depended on him for protection.

"Let's get her out first." Umi said as she managed to calm herself down. "Come here." She said. The girl let go of Silver and headed for Umi and held her hand. She gestured that they should get a move on and they all left.

Umi and the others came out of the place to see that the others were sitting down on the lawn, laughing and telling stories. Honoka was the first to notice them and the child. She stood up, dusted herself off and then headed to the young girl and crouched down to her height. "Hi there, what's your name?" She asked with a smile.

The girl didn't respond as she just looked at Honoka's blue eyes as if searching for something.

Honoka looked at Umi and the others as if asking who she was and the others simply shrugged.

"Where did you find her?" Nico asked.

"I'd rather not say." Umi replied, shuddering at the memory. "We just know that she was pretty traumatized."

Eri looked worriedly at the group as all of them looked like they saw something they shouldn't have. "Alright, let's just sit here and rest."

The others agreed and the all gathered around. They were handing out chips and cookies for their snack but most of them gave it to the kid who happily ate them.

"So what's your name kid?" Marcos asked as he looked at the girl kid there.

"Yuki… Anoka Yuki." The girl replied, her voice cold and emotionless.

The others could feel it. "So Yuki, mind telling us what was happening in that room?"

"Silver!" Umi scolded but Yuki replied anyway.

"Let me tell you my story first… When I was 5, my parents died so I was sent to that hell of an orphanage. They took good care of me at first but then as I grew older, the more I saw the fear in my friends' eyes. One night while I was going to the kitchen, I heard muffled screams coming from the Master's Bedroom." She took a deep breath. "I ran back to the room, convincing myself that it was nothing. The next day, we were told that our friend was adopted and I immediately knew that she was dead. We didn't show that we knew and then we continued on. Last year, I found out that we were actually eating the children that were killed the day before."

"Y-You… you ate…" Kei stopped and then held back the puke. Some of the others was like that as well.

"Shouldn't you be sick or something?" Maki asked. "Cannibalism leads to numerous sicknesses."

Yuki shook her head. "We grew immune to everything." She then looked at the older people before her. "We got sick but whoever lives through it gets a special prize…" She then took the locket she had hidden inside her shirt. "We get back the memories…"

"How cruel." Nozomi said, feeling angry that someone could do this to orphans.

"Then remember that room I was in?" Yuki asked Silver.

"Yeah, it was full of skin masks."

"They sell those to many people. I don't know how they make it look more like fake masks but they manage to do it." Yuki said. "Before you saw me, I was the next 'meal' because I screwed up big time. But then zombies came and I ran inside the room of masks. Then… this."

"What a life." Honoka said.

"It's so sad." Kotori added.

Yuki shook her head. "At least I'm alive. Sure I had to eat my friends and my parents are gone but I'm alive… I'm alive." She muttered the last two words repeatedly.

"Yes, you're still alive." Marcos said, kneeling down to her height on one knee. "But what would be the point in living in this wasteland?"

"If this wasteland would go back to its original form then living won't be so bad." Yuki replied, looking at Marcos with emotionless eyes.

It was something that surprised Marcos and angered him at the same time. _'How could someone rip this kid's emotions away from her in such a young age?'_ He asked himself in thought as he continued to stare back. He was snapped away as Silver spoke.

"Well what are you planning to do now Yuki?" Silver asked.

Yuki shrugged.

"Maybe you could go with us." Honoka suggested. She looked at the others who agreed. I mean, won't they be as monstrous as the owners if they left the kid here alone?

"You won't mind?"

"Of course we won't." Kotori replied with a smile. "That is if you feel comfortable with it."

For the first time since they met her, they finally saw a smile. It was quite small to the point of the mouth just giving off a small twitch but they saw it and they were happy. "Thank you." Her voice was full of sincerity and it was quite obvious.

"All right then." Kei said, standing up and stretching. "It's getting pretty late again." He said, looking up at the sky then to his watch. "We should camp out here inside the apartment for now. Is that all right with you Yuki?"

Yuki nodded.

They all went in and then went into the rooms. They were divided by year and gender with Yuki staying with the second years.

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><p>It was in the middle of the night when the floorboards started to creak. Everyone was in deep sleep so no one could hear it, not even the guys. The door to the first years slid open and a hand reached out for Maki and covered her mouth with a handkerchief. She woke up and then tried to fight the woman, making as much noise as she can but she couldn't produce much as she slowly drifted to sleep. The figure then dragged her out of the house and into the streets.<p> 


End file.
